Kentucky Athletics 18th in Final Directors’ Cup Standings

LEXINGTON, Ky. – With seven teams notching top-10 national finishes in their sports, University of Kentucky Athletics finished in 18^th place in the final 2022-23 Learfield Directors’ Cup national all-sports standings released Wednesday.

The 18^th-place slot marked the sixth consecutive year that Kentucky has ranked in the nation’s top 20 overall athletics programs.  Among the 363 NCAA Division I institutions, only 10 have earned top-20 status each of the last six years – Kentucky, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Southern California, Stanford, Texas and UCLA.

UK also extended a streak of 11 straight years in the top 30, not including the 2019-20 school year when there were no standings kept because of the cancellation of winter and spring sports championships.  The Directors’ Cup began in 1993-94 and the best nine finishes in school history have been under current Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart, all of which have come in the last 10 years of standings.

UK extended yet another streak in the realm of conference competition.  The Wildcats placed seventh among the 14 Southeastern Conference institutions, marking the 10^th straight year that UK has finished in the top half of the highly competitive league.

“We’re gratified by the consistency of performances by our athletes, coaches and staff in achieving another year in the top 20,” Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said.  “At the same time, our student-athletes have continued success in the classroom – school records this year for graduation rates, total number of graduates and total number of Academic All-Americans, along with extending our streak of 22 consecutive semesters of a department-wide 3.0 grade-point average.

“Of course, we’re always thankful for the Big Blue Nation.  Our fans are the bedrock of our program and our goal of even higher levels of success will not be possible without their support.”

The Directors’ Cup measures across-the-board competitive success for the 363 Division I schools. For each NCAA-sanctioned sport, points are awarded based on NCAA championship participation. This year, 16 of UK’s 22 eligible teams reached postseason play and scored points toward UK’s final Directors’ Cup tally.

The rifle team led the way with a third-place national finish.  UK also got top-20 finishes from men’s tennis (fifth), women’s outdoor track & field (sixth), gymnastics (seventh), baseball, volleyball and men’s soccer (ninth), men’s basketball and women’s indoor track and field (17^th) and women’s swimming & diving and men’s indoor track & field (19^th).

Here is the list of UK sports that earned Directors’ Cup points this year, along with national finish and points earned.

• Rifle – third, 85 points
• Men’s tennis – fifth, 73 points
• Women’s outdoor track and field – sixth, 73.5 points
• Gymnastics – seventh, 71.3 points
• Baseball – ninth, 64 points
• Volleyball – ninth, 64 points
• Men’s soccer – ninth, 64 points
• Men’s Basketball – 17^th, 50 points
• Women’s indoor track and field – 17^th, 57 points
• Women’s swimming and diving – 19^th, 55 points
• Men’s indoor track and field – 19^th, 54 points
• Softball – 33^rd, 37.5 points
• Men’s swimming and diving – 28^th 45 points
• Women’s golf – 31^st, 40.5 points
• Men’s outdoor track and field – 36^th, 38 points
• Football – 51^st, 25 points

Here is Kentucky’s history in the Directors’ Cup, with progression of the school record in bold:

1993-94:             37^th place
1994-95:             46^th place
1995-96:             32^nd place
1996-97:             26^th place
1998-99:             49^th place
1999-2000:         70^th place
2000-01:             37^th place
2001-02:             36^th place
2002-03:             50^th place
2003-04:             45^th place
2004-05:             35^th place
2005-06:             33^rd place
2006-07:             45^th place
2007-08:             36^th place
2008-09:             34^th place
2009-10:             29^th place
2010-11:             36^th place
2011-12:             29^th place
2012-13:             25^th place
2013-14:             11^th place
2014-15:             22^nd place
2015-16:             26^th place
2016-17:             10^th place
2017-18:             17^th place
2018-19:             14^th place
2019-20:             no standings because of pandemic
2020-21:             12^th place
2021-22:             9^th place
2022-23:           18^th place