Last Friday DU was presented with its fifth I-AAA Director’s Cup award after receiving the top spot among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I non-football schools in National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) rankings.

DU ranked 51 overall, accumulating a total of 425.5 points based on this year’s performance of athletic teams. This spring, women’s lacrosse earned 53 points for their 9th place finish in the NCAA tournament while men’s lacrosse brought in 83 points for their appearance in the NCAA semifinals. Women’s tennis also accounted for 24 points while men’s tennis accumulated the final 50 points.

Earlier this season, Denver earned 64 points for fall athletics and 80 in winter athletic performances. Points are assigned to teams by the NACDA based on their finishes in various NCAA championships.

According to DenverPioneers.com, this marks the fifth time in the past six seasons that DU has finished 65th or better in the overall NCAA Division I rankings. This is also the fifth time in the past six years Denver has won the I-AAA cup, excluding the 2012 season when Pepperdine University claimed the top spot.

Wichita State finished second to DU in Division I rankings, with a total of 338.25 points, ranking them 65th overall.

Denver ranked well among other divisional schools as well, finishing 260 points ahead of other Western Athletic Conference schools on standings chart released by the NACDA. DU ranked second to Bringham Young University in Mountain Region schools, finishing 79.5 points behind Bringham Young’s 505 points.
Stanford continued a 19-season streak, claiming its 19th Division I Learfield Sport’s Director Cup title.