THE FLATS – Wrapping up its most successful all-around year in more than a decade, Georgia Tech athletics earned a 44th-place finish in the 2020-21 Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced on Friday.
The Directors’ Cup is the nation’s most-recognized all-sports ranking for college athletics, with points awarded based on teams’ finishes in NCAA Championships.
Georgia Tech’s 44th-place finish is its best since it placed 31st in 2004-05 and its third-best finish since the Directors’ Cup’s inception in 1993-94 (Tech also placed 31st in 2003-04). Georgia Tech and Texas Tech were the only institutions among the top 50 in this year’s Directors’ Cup final standings that have 17 sports or less (Texas Tech, which placed 43rd, also has 17 sports). Georgia Tech is one of only nine institutions in this year’s top 50 that have less than 20 sports, while 12 field 25 teams or more.
The Yellow Jackets’ 44th-place finish comes on the heels of 11 of their 17 teams earning points in the final standings in 2020-21, which was the most Tech teams to earn points in a single year since 12 did so in 2009-10. Leading the way for the Jackets this year were top-15 national finishes in women’s basketball, golf and women’s tennis. Tech also won the Atlantic Coast Championship in men’s basketball, claimed the ACC Coastal Division title in baseball and earned its best-ever national finishes in women’s cross country (20th) and women’s swimming and diving (28th).
The 44th-place finish represents a remarkable turnaround for Georgia Tech under the watch of athletics director Todd Stansbury. Just three years ago (2017-18), Tech only had three teams that earned Directors’ Cup points and placed 121st in the final standings.
“I’m so proud of our student-athletes and coaches for their remarkable showing in this year’s Directors’ Cup standings,” Stansbury said. “Not only have they taken our across-the-board athletic success to a level not achieved on The Flats in 15 years, but they did so despite the unprecedented challenges that they faced over the past year. I think I speak for all Georgia Tech fans when I say congratulations and thank you to our student-athletes and coaches for an incredible year.”
Texas won the 2020-21 Directors’ Cup, marking only the second time in the award’s
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The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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