Latest news with #Directors'Cup
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
LBJ wrestler Rendon finding home, success in sport
AUSTIN (KXAN) — When Michaela Rendon began as a wrestler, it wasn't the most encouraging start. 'My first match, I didn't know what to do,' Rendon said. 'So I kind of just screamed in the middle. I didn't win.'Seven months later, the sport seems like it has always been a part of her life. 'I like the sport because it's a one-man sport,' she said. 'You can't really rely on a team like in football. It's really just you and the other person. That's what it comes down to.' Despite being newer to the sport, Rendon has excelled. She qualified for the Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota, this July. Texas Longhorns set to claim Directors' Cup for 4th time in 5 years The LBJ standout just finished her freshman year and is staying extremely focused. 'What makes Michaela special is the idea of an athlete being what I would call complete,' said Randy Bryant, principal of LBJ High School. 'She does what's necessary inside the classroom and she's doing what's necessary to be successful at athletics.' Bryant is also the owner of Heart and Pride Wrestling, where Michaela trains. The club is free for students from the Austin Independent School District. National championship-winning coach questions all the Arch Manning hype 'Some gyms you can tell when it's just about the money, but I feel like they really want to help out the kids and they're just genuine,' she said. Rendon is an athlete in every sense of the word. She's been successful in track and field and football, as well as boxing. She said that her boxing background has helped her in wrestling. Her goal in wrestling is simple. 'I want to win state,' she said. She has helped revitalize the wrestling program at LBJ. There should be around 20 athletes in the program for the upcoming season, a turnout much higher than it typically is. 'It feels good. I don't want to say I'm the start, but I'm one of the first ones that is going to start the club back up,' she said. 'It feels good.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Storied HBCU To Join New Athletic Conference
NEW ORLEANS-Xavier University of Louisiana, a prominent NAIA-level HBCU with a century-long history of academic and athletic excellence, announced Monday that it will become a full member of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) effective July 1, 2026. The decision follows a unanimous vote by the SSAC Board of Presidents earlier this month, signaling a significant realignment within the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) landscape. The move marks Xavier's fourth full-time conference affiliation since the inception of its athletic programs. The university previously competed in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) from 1935 to 1960, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) from 1981 to 2021, and most recently, the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC), where it has been a member since 2021. "We are thrilled to welcome Xavier University of Louisiana as a full member of the SSAC," said Mike Hall, conference commissioner. "Their history of academic and athletic achievement strengthens our conference at every level." Hall pointed to Xavier's recent top-25 finish in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings as a testament to the HBCU's broad-based athletic success in NAIA. The Directors' Cup ranks collegiate athletic programs based on their performance across multiple sports. Xavier will not wait until 2026 to compete in the SSAC ecosystem. Three of its programs, competitive cheer, men's indoor track and field, and women's indoor track and field, will participate as affiliate members during the 2025-26 season. The SSAC, founded in 1999, comprises institutions across Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Its current members include Loyola University (New Orleans), William Carey University (Hattiesburg, Miss.), University of Mobile (Mobile, Ala.), and nine others across the Southeast. For Xavier, the move carries both strategic and historical significance. The New Orleans-based HBCU will renew conference rivalries with Loyola, Mobile, and William Carey. Three schools it frequently faced during its tenure in the GCAC, including as recently as the 2009-10 academic year. "We are excited to join the Southern States Athletic Conference," said Xavier Athletic Director Pat Kendrick. "We look forward to the high level of competition and the opportunity to reignite longstanding rivalries." Xavier President Reynold Verret echoed those sentiments, adding, "Joining the Southern States Athletic Conference affirms our commitment to excellence and expands opportunities for our scholar-athletes to thrive both in the classroom and in competition." The transition also signals the end of Xavier's five-year tenure in the RRAC. Before formally exiting, the university plans to compete for at least 12 RRAC championships during the 2025-26 season. The post Storied HBCU To Join New Athletic Conference appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
USA Today
27-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State finishes high in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings
It's only for bragging rights, but it does matter for the chest thumpers. The Learfield Directors' Cup honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program and achieving success in their NCAA sports programs. In other words, be the best across all sports based on score-driven metrics. Ohio State has historically finished high in the Directors' Cup standings, but never in first place. This year, that honor goes to the Texas athletic department for the 2924-2025 athletic calendar. The Longhorns won in a tight race with new Big Ten member USC, surpassing the Trojans by less than two points. Texas finished with 1,255.25 points to USC's 1,253.75. The Buckeyes again had a strong showing, finishing in eighth place with a total score of 1,032.25. The rest of the top ten consisted of perennial athletic power Stanford in third place (1,251.00 points), followed by North Carolina (4), UCLA (5), Tennessee (6), Florida (7), Oklahoma (9), and Duke (9). It's not all sports that count. In fact, there are five scoreable sports that include women's soccer, volleyball, and basketball, and men's basketball and baseball – and 14 additional NCAA sports for a total of 19 sports counted toward the final point totals. Ohio State had 19 sports programs score points this year. According to a release from Ohio State, OSU's 10 women's teams to make an NCAA field and contribute points include the fall sports of soccer (9th place, overall) and cross country (32nd), the winter sports of hockey (2nd), swimming and diving (14th), basketball (17th) and gymnastics (17th), and the spring sports of tennis (9th), softball (17th), track and field (22nd) and golf (24th). The eight Ohio State men's NCAA (and CFP) teams were football (1st) and soccer (3rd) in the fall, the winter sports of wrestling (5th), gymnastics (7th), hockey (9th) and swimming and diving (16th), and the spring sports of lacrosse (9th) and tennis (9th). Ohio State has never won the Cup but has finished 2nd three times, 3rd twice, 4th three times, and in the top ten seven more times).
USA Today
26-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Penn State earns top-20 finish in 2024-25 Directors' Cup standings
With the college baseball season recently concluding, it marks the end of the 2024-25 athletic season. As is tradition, Learfield released the final standings for the Directors' Cup, an annual rankings used to measure a university's overall athletic success from each school year. On Thursday, Learfield announced the final tally, which is based on a formula that awards points for success in different sports. Penn State finished the season with the No. 16 overall ranking, which comes after being ranked No. 3 after the fall rankings were released. Mediocre performances from the baseball, softball, men's volleyball and women's lacrosse teams hurt the Nittany Lions, but they still finished higher than their No. 24 ranking a year prior. Penn State finished with 893 total points, with 213.5 from fall sports, 335 from winter sports and just 143 in the spring window. Men's wrestling and women's volleyball each contributed 100 points while earning national championships, while football, women's soccer, fencing and men's lacrosse all eclipsed 70 points. Both basketball teams, as well as the baseball and softball teams, finished with no points. The Nittany Lions placed fifth among Big Ten schools, trailing No. 2 USC, No. 5 UCLA, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 13 Michigan. The conference as a whole was successful, with every school ranking in the top 90 spots out of over 300 total Division I institutions. Additionally, every Big Ten school besides Iowa and Rutgers ranked in the top 50.
USA Today
15-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas Longhorns win 4th Directors Cup in 5 years for top overall athletic department USA
Texas Longhorns win 4th Directors Cup in 5 years for top overall athletic department USA Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte turned the University of Texas athletic department into the envy of every school in the country. For the fourth time in five years, the Texas Longhorns athletic department has won the 2024-25 NACDA Learfield Directors' Cup for being the best athletic department in the nation. UT edged out USC and Stanford to claim the trophy. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics awards the prize each season based on results from all of a school's sports teams, men's and women's. The final results came down to a race in the NCAA Track and Field Championships. UT clinched the Cup after the Texas A&M Aggies tied USC with a total score of 41 at the men's outdoor track and field championships Saturday night. Had the Trojans won, they would have had enough to pass Texas instead of barely finishing in second. Texas finishes with 1255.25 total points, USC ends up with 1253.75 and Stanford finishes with 1251. Texas won a national title in both Men's Swimming and Diving and Softball this season. Texas football finished third, as did women's basketball, rowing, women's swimming and diving and men's tennis. Since Del Conte took over the Longhorns athletic department in 2017, Texas has won 15 national titles. Now, with his fourth Directors' Cup, the Longhorns have arguably the best AD in all of college sports.
