Six ACC schools, including Virginia, are ranked among the top 25 of the final Division I Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings announced Friday.
North Carolina finished fourth with 1,126.25 points – just .25 out of third place. Virginia (11th), Notre Dame (14th), Florida State (16th), Duke (21st) and NC State (23rd) completed the ACC’s top-25 contingent.
Ten ACC schools finished among the final top 50, with Virginia Tech placing 32nd, its second-best finish in a completed academic year ever, followed by Clemson (36th), Louisville (40th) and Georgia Tech (44th).
Wake Forest (54th), Miami (62nd), Syracuse (64th), Pitt (73rd) and Boston College (74th) followed, placing all 15 ACC member institutions among the top 75.
NCAA championships in men’s lacrosse and women’s swimming and diving propelled Virginia to its 11th-place finish, which placed the school in the top 25 for the 14th consecutive year.
UVA is one of 10 schools to rank in the top 30 of the final Directors’ Cup standings in the 27-year existence of the program.
The Directors’ Cup was not awarded in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Points in the Director’s Cup standings are awarded by a school’s NCAA postseason finish in 19 sports, four of which must be men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and volleyball.
Complete standings and the scoring structure for the Division I Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup can be found at www.directorscup.org.
“This has been an amazing year for a lot of reasons and the performances of our teams and our Directors’ Cup finish shows how well our coaches and student-athletes met those challenges,” said Virginia director of athletics Carla Williams. “I am so proud of how our entire department performed considering the circumstances. Winning two national championships and seeing several individuals crowned national champions was fantastic. For our student-athletes and coaches to manage the hurdles and protocols put before them on a daily basis to be able to compete, that was the real victory.
“There were so many outstanding performances and highlights that were a real positive and inspiration for all of our fans and supporters. We look forward to ensuring our sports programs are a source of great pride for the University, the community and the Commonwealth,” Williams said.
In addition to the pair of NCAA championships, baseball advanced to the College World Series, women’s soccer earned a berth to the NCAA College, rowing placed fifth at the NCAA Championships, men’s swimming and diving finished ninth at the NCAA Championships, and men’s and women’s tennis each advanced to the NCAA Round of 16.
UVA captured three Atlantic Coast Conference championships and its 86 conference titles since the spring of 2002 are the most of any ACC school during that time. In 2020-21, UVA claimed ACC championships in women’s swimming and diving (17th championship in program history and 12th title since 2008), men’s tennis (13th championship in program history) and rowing (11th consecutive and 20 of 21 overall).
The Cavaliers also claimed ACC regular-season titles in men’s basketball and men’s tennis.
Individually, Paige Madden won three NCAA individual titles and helped UVA to the win in the 800 free relay. Michaela Meyer became the first female competitor in UVA track and field history to win an individual NCAA title, capturing the 800 meters at the NCAA Women’s Track and Field Championships.
Emma Navarrro captured the NCAA singles championship, joining Danielle Collins (2014 & 2016) as Cavaliers to win the event. Carl Söderlund was named ACC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year .
Todd DeSorbo (women’s swimming) was named the national coach of the year. Andres Pedroso (men’s tennis), Kevin Sauer (rowing) and DeSorbo earned ACC Coach of the Year honors.
Additional highlights of Virginia’s 2020-2021 athletics year included:
- Men’s basketball claimed its 10th ACC regular-season championship and earned its school-record seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance
- Women’s lacrosse advanced to the NCAA Second Round
- Eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championship with senior Louie Hayes placing eighth to become the 23rd All-American in the program’s history
- Four individuals advanced to the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and earned All-America honors while 10 Cavaliers participated in the NCAA Outdoor meet with five picking up first-team All-America honors.
- The athletics department achieved its highest Graduation Success Rate (95 percent)
- Paige Madden (women’s swimming), Sophia Kershner (rowing), Alexa Spaanstra (women’s soccer) and Carl Söderlund (men’s tennis) and Michaela Meyer (women’s track and field) earned ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors
- Rachel Robinson (field hockey) and Madden received Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarships from the ACC
- Madden was also a recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
- Terrell Jana (football) was named the Wells Fargo Humanitarian Award recipient. Jana is a member of UVA’s Groundkeepers, which won UVA’s 2020 Marcus L. Martin Endorsed Award that recognizes groups or individuals who work to facilitate long-term, institutional change in inclusion, diversity, equity or access
- Jana also earned an ISO Graduation Award, which honors undergraduate leadership and excellence from UVA’s International Students & Scholars program
- The state-of-the-art Virginia Tennis Complex at the Boar’s Head Sports Club opened for the 2021 season
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Chris Graham
