Syracuse, NY — Syracuse University ranked 45th in the country in the Learfield Director’s Cup standings after the 2023-24 winter sports season, a slight drop from last year but within the customary range for the school.
The Director’s Cup is a competition that aims to rank schools based on their all-around athletic success each year rather than focusing solely on high-profile sports like football and basketball. Each team sponsored by a school can earn up to 100 points based on their NCAA Tournament results.
Each program at a school, from football to squash, is weighted equally.
Syracuse was ranked No. 37 in the country last season after winter sports were counted. It ranked 71st the year before. Syracuse finished last year at No. 45 in the country.
Syracuse is at a disadvantage against many Power-Five schools in the competition because of its limited number of sports, although that disadvantage does allow SU to offer financial support for many programs that ranks near the top of the country.
Syracuse did not have an especially strong winter this year. The women’s basketball team earned 50 points for its second-round performance in the NCAA Tournament. The men’s indoor track and field team was the only other team to be represented in NCAA competition.
The Orange was ranked No. 11 in the country after the fall, led by strong performances by both of its cross-country teams and its men’s soccer team.
Stanford, a regular winner of the competition because of its dominance in Olympic sports, is in first place after the winter season with 977 points. The Cardinals are followed by Texas (746.5) and North Carolina (733.5). Syracuse has 333 points.
Syracuse is ranked 10th out of the ACC’s 15 teams (counting Notre Dame) in the competition.
Only four teams in the Top 50 are from outside the Power-Five. They are Harvard (No. 21), Air Force (No. 48), Princeton (No. 49) and Georgetown (No. 50).
Some schools place great importance on the Director’s Cup, referring to their rank as a point of pride and giving out bonuses to athletic administrators based on their performance. Strong performances were a regular point of emphasis at Syracuse under former athletic director Daryl Gross.
Other schools place less value on the results of the largely-contrived competition, prioritizing results in select programs over all-around success.
Syracuse then seems to deliver strong spring results with both lacrosse teams currently ranked among the four best teams in the country.
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