CLEVELAND, Ohio – The fall standings for the 2024-25 NAIA LEARFIELD Directors' Cup have been released and Indiana Wesleyan sits alone in first place. IWU has been a consistent presence at the top of the rankings after winning the trophy in 2021-22 and placing in the Top-5 the last six years. This fall, the Wildcats had had all six of their fall programs finish in the Top 10 of their National Championships. IWU is the only department to have done this three years in a row.
The LEARFIELD 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 the NAIA fall championships of men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball.
IWU holds the top spot with 435.5 total points. Volleyball brought in the department's highest numbers, recorded 100 after their second-straight NAIA National Championship. Men's cross country was second with 75 points for their 5th place finish at NAIA Nationals. Women's cross country tallied 67.5 points, followed by football with 65 points. Women's soccer and men's soccer both totaled 64 points each.
"This fall has been an amazing showing for all of teams as we had all six teams finish in the top ten," said Jeffrey Reyes, IWU Associate Athletic Director. "The #BothAnd mission was displayed as many lives were changed, an incredible amount of academic recognition was earned, and memories were made. We were incredibly grateful that our volleyball team was able to go back to back for the first time in university history."
IWU's point total is 105 points higher than the second-place institution.
The Wildcats are joined by one other Crossroads League team in the Top 5 and four other programs in the Top 25 following fall sports.
- No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University
- No. 4 Marian Universty
- No. 16 Spring Arbor University
- No. 22 Taylor University
- No. 25 Grace College
The next LEARFIELD standings will be released April 3 at the conclusion of winter sport championships.
To view the full release from the NACDA, click
HERE.
To view the full NAIA standings, click
HERE.
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