CLEVELAND, Ohio – For the first time in program history, Tufts University’s athletics program has won the Learfield Directors' Cup for NCAA Division III for 2021-2022. The Directors' Cup is awarded to the athletics program with the most broad-based participation and success in postseason competition.
All 11 NESCAC institutions were ranked in the final Learfield Directors' Cup Division III Standings for the 2021-22 season.
> 2021-22 Learfield Directors' Cup Final Standings
Tufts compiled 1080.00 points and beat out Johns Hopkins (1043.00 pts) by 37 points for the top spot. Middlebury finished third with 1000.50 points and Williams followed in sixth place (908.00 pts) to round out the NESCAC schools in the top 10.
Amherst (603.50 pts) finished 24th while Wesleyan was 34th (487.50 pts), Bowdoin was 39th (454.00 pts), and Bates was 46th (394.50 pts). Colby finished 51st (350.00 pts), and Connecticut College was 65th (279.50 pts). Hamilton (192.50 pts – 98th) and Trinity (136.00 pts – 140th) rounded out the NESCAC institutions.
In the fall, 17 NESCAC teams earned NCAA Tournament bids in field hockey (4), men’s soccer (4), women’s soccer (5), and volleyball (4), and every NESCAC institution was also represented, either by a team or individual, at the NCAA Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Championships. A total of five teams reached the Final Four in the respective NCAA Championships – Middlebury & Trinity (field hockey), Amherst & Connecticut College (men’s soccer), and Wesleyan (women’s soccer).
During the winter campaign, eight teams earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball (2), women’s basketball (3), men’s ice hockey (1), and women’s ice hockey (2). Additionally, 104 NESCAC student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships.
The winter was highlighted by Middlebury winning the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey National Championship with an undefeated mark of 27-0-0. Four individual national championships were won by NESCAC student-athletes at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships and Amherst reached the NCAA Women’s Basketball Division III Final Four.
In the spring, 26 teams were selected for NCAA Tournament fields in baseball (1), softball (2), men’s golf (1), women’s golf (2), men’s lacrosse (4), women’s lacrosse (4), men’s tennis (4), women’s tennis (5), and women’s rowing (3). A total of 45 athletes qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships and five men’s rowing teams competed in the IRA Division III National Championship for the first time.
In the spring, the Middlebury captured the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse title for the eighth time in program history in an all-NESCAC championship game as the Panthers faced Tufts. Bates was the national runner-up at the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championship and Williams claimed the IRA Men’s Rowing Division III National title. Tufts also reached the NCAA Semifinals in men’s lacrosse while the Panthers and Jumbos reached the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Team Championship and Wesleyan and Middlebury advanced to the semifinals in the NCAA Women’s Tennis Team Championship. In the NCAA Individual Singles & Doubles Championships, Middlebury’s Stan Morris won the men’s singles title, Elle Christensen of Tufts captured the women’s singles title, and the Jumbo duo of Christensen and Tilly Rigby won the women’s doubles titles in an all-NESCAC final.
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and
USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.
2021-22 Learfield Directors’ Cup Division III Standings
NESCAC Institutions
1 – Tufts, 1080.00 pts
3 – Middlebury, 1000.50 pts
6 – Williams, 908.00 pts
24 – Amherst, 603.50 pts
34 – Wesleyan, 487.50 pts
39 – Bowdoin, 454.00 pts
46 – Bates, 394.50 pts
51 – Colby, 350.00 pts
65 – Connecticut College, 279.50 pts
98 – Hamilton, 192.50 pts
140 – Trinity, 136.00 pts
