Augustana College qualified 11 teams for NCAA postseason play and earned seventh place in the final 2013-14 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings.
Augustana collected 603 points to record its fourth straight top-10 finish in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings. Augustana is the highest ranked Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference team in the final Learfield Cup Standings.
Grand Valley State claimed its ninth Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, with its last title coming in 2010-11 and finishing second the last two seasons. West Texas A&M finished second, followed by Central Missouri in third, Indianapolis fourth, Ashland in fifth, Chico State in sixth and Augustana seventh.
Augustana was ranked 14th in the first edition of the spring rankings but moved up seven spots to finish in the top 10 after gaining 311 points from six spring sports teams that qualified for NCAA postseason competition. Softball was the top point-gainer in the spring picking up 64 after a ninth-place finish nationally.
Women’s golf placed 17th in all of Division II to earn 55.5 points followed by baseball and women’s tennis who each gained 50 points towards Augustana’s point total. Men’s outdoor track and field earned 46 points while the women’s outdoor track and field team earned 45.5 points.
Augustana earned 132 points in the winter season after wrestling placed 24th nationally and earned 50 points to go along with 82 combined points earned by men’s and women’s indoor track and field.
Men’s and women’s cross country earned 160 points during the fall season with the men’s team picking up 85 points after its highest finish in school history, placing third at the NCAA Championships. Women’s cross country earned the other 75 points with a fifth place finish at the national meet.
Augustana has finished 11th or better in the Learfield Cup Standings since 2009-10, including back-to-back top five finishes in 2010-11 (third) and 2011-12 (fourth).
The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup is a program that honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program that celebrates those programs achieving success in many sports, both men’s and women’s. Beginning in 1993-94 for Division I by NACDA and USA Today, it was expanded in 1995-96 to include Division II, III and the NAIA. Each institution is awarded points in a predetermined number of sports for men and women.
