FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas capitalized on a national championship from its women’s track and field team and another trip to the College World Series from its baseball team to surge to No. 23 in the final Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings released Friday.
The Razorbacks racked up 803 points to finish in the top 25 for the fifth consecutive year and the 10th time in the past 12 years.
Arkansas placed seventh among SEC teams but was first among all colleges who sponsor 19 or fewer sports. The Razorbacks were the only school ranked in the top 25 with 19 or fewer sports.
“Once again, our 465 student-athletes and coaches have combined for a truly memorable year of athletics competition,” Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said in a UA news release. “With two NCAA championships, four Southeastern Conference team crowns and countless individual NCAA and SEC titles, these remarkable young men and women have succeeded at the highest level athletically while proudly representing the University of Arkansas.”
Stanford took first place in the competition, which has been tracked by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics since 1993-94, with 1567.75 points.
Michigan placed second, followed by Florida, Texas, USC, UCLA, Florida State, Virginia, Duke and North Carolina in the top 10.
The Razorbacks tallied 370.5 points in the spring to move up in the standings. Arkansas pulled down 100 points for capturing the NCAA women’s outdoor track and field title under Coach Lance Harter, the program’s fourth national championship. The baseball team under Coach Dave Van Horn scored 73 points for its finish at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
Coach Shauna Taylor’s women’s golf team contributed 72.75 points for reaching the match-play quarterfinals at the NCAA championships at Blessings Golf Club last month. Coach Chris Bucknam’s men’s track team scored 59.25 points after tying for 15th place at the NCAAs.
Coach Brad McMakin’s men’s golf team notched 40.5 points, and Coach Courtney Deifel’s softball team accumulated 25 points to round out the spring scoring.
Arkansas scored 272 points during the winter portion of the scoring, led by the women’s track and field team’s NCAA indoor national championship, the third in school history. The Razorbacks posted 160.5 points in the fall, paced by 61.5 points from women’s cross country, 50 points from the women’s soccer team led by Coach Colby Hale, and 49 points from men’s cross country.