Louisville Athletics is known for its men’s and women’s basketball programs, its football program, and its baseball program. However, there are many sports university-wide that are thriving and that’s why UofL has found itself in the top 25 of the first IMG Learfield Director’s Cup standings.
Cardinal Athletics checks in at number 23. Volleyball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, field hockey, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and, of course, women’s basketball all had a big part in the current ranking for Louisville Athletics. Louisville is one of 6 ACC programs in the top 30 of the standings currently. A remarkable achievement for the school and the conference it resides in.
We now await the final standings, which will be released on July 2nd. The final standings will include all spring sports such as baseball.
To read more about this achievement, check out UofL’s press release below.
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT:
Louisville Athletics Stands in Top 25 of Learfield IMG Director’s Cup
The Cardinals are No. 23 in the standings through the winter sports season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the success of multiple fall and winter sports programs, the University of Louisville Athletics department has risen to 23rd in the nation in the first Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup Division I standings that were released on Thursday.
Louisville has accumulated 429 points through the winter sports season, placing the Cardinals as one of six ACC schools among the nation’s top 30. Due to COVID-19, the 2020-21 Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings have been adjusted to include the fall and winter championships in the first release today.
In winter sports, the Cardinals earned 282 points with successful seasons in men’s swimming and diving (75 points), women’s basketball (73), women’s swimming and diving (63), and men’s and women’s indoor track and field (52.5 women, 18.5 men). UofL ranked 25thnationally through the fall standings while gathering 147 points with strong seasons from women’s sports in field hockey (83 points) and volleyball (64).
Men’s swimming and diving matched its highest-ever finish, ranking fifth in the NCAA Championship, with two National Champion performances. Nick Albiero, the ACC Swimmer of the Year and ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year, won the 200 butterfly, while UofL’s Mitchell Whyte, Evgenii Somov, Nick Albiero and Haridi Sameh Kamel teamed to win the 200 medley relay title. The Cardinals’ women’s swimming and diving team finished 13th in the nation.
Women’s Track & Field captured its third NCAA National Individual Champion in school history as Makenli Forrest won the NCAA indoor weight throw national title.
Women’s Basketball advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, with ACC Player of the Year Dana Evans, a Honda Sport Award finalist, earning consensus first team All-America honors. The 2021 Kay Yow ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year, Evans was the 13th overall selection in the WNBA Draft.
In a season that spanned the fall and spring, field hockey reached the program’s first Final Four as the nation’s No. 3 seed. Mercedes Pastor, Alli Bitting and Charlie van Oirschot were named All-ACC and Meghan Schneider won the NCAA Elite 90 Award with a 4.0 GPA.
Volleyball, also playing in both the fall and spring, reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second straight year with three players earning All-America accolades – Anna Stevenson, Tori Dilfer and Anna DeBeer – for ACC Coach of the Year Dani Busboom Kelly.
The Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships. The final standings including spring sports competition will be published on July 2, following the conclusion of the College World Series. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA’swebsite at www.directorscup.org, and fans can visit www.thedirectorscup.com and follow on Twitter at @ldirectorscup.
