Arkansas Debuts at No. 8 in Directors’ Cup Standings
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – As the 2024 spring semester begins, Arkansas finds itself in a familiar place – near the top of the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings and positioned for yet another top-15 national program finish. Arkansas is ranked No. 8 in the 2023-24 Learfield Directors’ Cup Final Fall Standings released on Thursday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA).
Arkansas is one of only three league programs in the top 25 of the initial standings. The standings released on Thursday included men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s water polo. The Razorbacks have 272 points after the fall segment of the competition.
Arkansas has won 33 SEC team championships in the past six years, including 15 conference titles in the past three years alone. Both marks lead all SEC programs and the Razorbacks’ 33 titles are equal to seven other league programs combined in that same timeframe.
The Directors’ Cup tracks the nation’s most successful intercollegiate athletics programs for their performances throughout the year. The Razorbacks have earned top-15 finishes in each of the past three years, including an eighth-place finish in 2020-21, a seventh-place finish in 2021-22 and a 13th-place finish in 2023-24.
Arkansas’ previous best finish, prior to 2020-21, was 14th. The Directors’ Cup program has been tracking the success of the nation’s top intercollegiate athletics programs since 1993-94.
Coach Chris Bucknam and the Razorback men’s cross country team once again earned a spot on the podium at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Arkansas, who won the 2023 SEC Cross Country Championship, earned a fourth-place NCAA finish, its third podium finish in the past four years after finishing fourth in 2020 and 2021. It also marked the fifth time the Hogs placed among the top five since 2016. Patrick Kiprop and Kirami Yego earned All-America honors in leading the Razorbacks to 80 Directors’ Cup points.
Arkansas’ women’s cross country team tallied a top-10 finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Under the leadership of first-year Head Coach Chris Johnson and Distance Coach Megan Elliott, the Razorbacks finished ninth in the team competition, earning their 17th top-10 finish in program history. Sydney Thorvaldson earned All-America honors in helping pace Arkansas to a 69-point addition to the Directors’ Cup standings.
It was a historic season for Razorback Volleyball, advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Prior to 2023, only one Arkansas team had ever advanced to the round of 16. Arkansas earned its most wins since 1999 (28), which included the team’s first win over Kentucky in 11 years, coming in the round of 16 in Lincoln. Arkansas recorded its third straight season with 20+ wins, earned its highest-ever ranking at No. 8, its best record (15-3) in SEC play since 2003 and recorded the best 20-match start (18-2) to a season in program history. Coach Jason Watson’s squad re-wrote the record books and tallied 73 Directors’ Cup points in the process.
Coach Colby Hale once again led Arkansas to an outstanding season on the pitch. The Razorback soccer team won both the SEC Western Division and Overall Regular season title in 2023 and earned a coveted No. 2 seed in the NCAA Soccer Tournament. The Razorbacks hosted multiple rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Razorback Field, defeating Grambling in the opening round before falling to Pittsburgh in the second round of the bracket. Arkansas scored 50 Directors’ Cup points in women’s soccer.