Stanford Athletics has done it again and earned its 18th consecutive Division I Learfield Sports Directors Cup for the 2011-2012 season. The Learfield Sports Directors Cup award, which was developed in 1993 by the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors of America (NACDA) and USA Today, is presented annually to the nations best overall collegiate athletics program.
Points are awarded based on each institutions finish in 20 sports, including 10 each in mens and womens. This past season, Stanford finished with an overall 1,384.25 points. Trailing the Cardinal was Florida (1,241.00), Ohio State (1,104.25), UCLA (1,064.75) and Texas (1,032.50).
Three Stanford teams claimed national championships, including womens soccer, womens water polo and womens lightweight I eight (rowing), adding to Stanfords overall total of 103 NCAA team titles, the second-highest total among all NCAA institutions.
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Seventeen of the programs 35 intercollegiate programs finished their seasons ranked in the Top 10 nationally, while seven teams were ranked first in the nation at some point during the year.
Additionally, six individuals were recognized as the national player of the year in their respective sports. These players include Andrew Luck, a No. 1 overall in the NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts; Nnemkadi Ogwumike, who went first in the WNBA draft to the Los Angeles Sparks; Mark Appel (baseball); Nicole Gibbs (women's tennis); Kiley Neushul (women's water polo); Teresa Noyola and Lindsay Taylor (women's soccer).