Stanford wins 16th consecutive Directors’ Cup

The National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors of America (NACDA) and USA Today announced on Tuesday that Stanford had won its annual Directors’ Cup award, given to the top collegiate athletic program in the country. Stanford’s athletics program has now won the award for 16 consecutive years, and has not won the Cup just once since its inception in 1993-1994.

In the final Directors’ Cup standings, Stanford’s 1,508.50 points easily outpaced its two closest rivals, Florida (1,237.35) and Virginia (1,189.25).

The Cardinal won the title on the strength of three national championships and six second-place finishes on the national stage. Men’s volleyball, women’s tennis and women’s lightweight-varsity eight rowing all won titles, while women’s swimming and diving, women’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s gymnastics, women’s water polo and synchronized swimming were all runners-up. Out of Stanford’s 35 varsity athletic programs, 20 were ranked in the national top 10 at some point during their seasons, and nine teams held the No. 1 national ranking.

In a press release, Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby talked about Stanford’s achievement.

“Winning the Directors’ Cup for 16 consecutive years is a testament to many generations of excellent student-athletes and some of the top coaches in the nation who have been part of the fabric of Stanford Athletics for many years,” he said. “It’s an award that everyone associated with Stanford Athletics is very proud of and one that we won’t give up easily.”

In addition to helping win the Directors’ Cup, Stanford’s national championship teams kept alive a streak of 34 consecutive years in which a Cardinal team has won an NCAA national championship. The streak is a national record.