Led by a historic double dip of conference championships in lacrosse and a women’s basketball title, Jacksonville University finished second among ASUN members and tied for 133rd overall in the nation among NCAA Division I institutions in the Learfield Directors Cup.
The Learfield Directors Cup is an annual award recognizing the colleges and universities with the most successful overall athletic departments across both men’s and women’s sports in the United States.
JU, which also had a conference title in women’s rowing, scored 125 points to tie Southern Mississippi overall. The Dolphins finished behind Eastern Kentucky in the ASUN and was 15th in the nation among non-football mid-major schools.
It was the highest finish in 19 years, since the 2006-07 school year, and the highest under current athletic director Alex Ricker-Gilbert.
The final ranking, released on July 7, also comes on the heels of JU setting a school record for the highest cumulative grade point average among all 19 athletic teams at 3.54. Every team averaged 3.0 or higher, and 12 were 3.5 or higher.
The University of North Florida, with conference titles in women’s golf and tennis, and men’s soccer, finished fifth in the ASUN and 178th overall.
Flagler College, led by a national championship in men’s tennis and conference titles in men’s and women’s lacrosse, finished 32nd among Division II schools.
Texas won the Learfield Directors Cup, followed by Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. Georgia finished eighth and Florida State 41st.
The rankings are compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville University scores highest Learfield Cup finish in two decades
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
