FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE year, Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, has won the US Sports Academy Director’s Cup for NCAA Division II. This award is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), United States Sports Academy, and USA Today to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. The GV ‘four-peat’ ties the D2 record set by UC-Davis from 2000-2003 before they transitioned to Division I.

The Lakers had top-10 finishes in 12 of the 14 sports used for the tally. GVSU actually scored in 19 sports, but only 14 are counted in the final total, seven sports in each gender. The winning score of 995.75 was compiled by the following sports: football (1st), women’s soccer (2nd), women’s cross country (3rd), men’s cross country (5th), women’s indoor track (3rd), men’s indoor track (5th), men’s basketball (5th), women’s outdoor track (5th), men’s outdoor track (8th), baseball (9th), women’s golf (9th), softball (9th), women’s tennis (17th) and men’s golf (36th). GVSU also won its ninth consecutive President’s Cup award as the best athletic program in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. No Lakers team finished any lower than third place in any league sport.

For the third time overall, UC-San Diego (802) was runner-up to the award. The Tritons had nine teams with top-10 finishes including women’s rowing (2nd), men’s water polo (3rd), women’s volleyball (5th), women’s soccer (5th), women’s basketball (3rd), women’s swimming (3rd), men’s swimming (5th), men’s tennis (3rd), and women’s track (8th). Abilene Christian was third overall with 761.75 points. The Wildcats had several teams with top-10 finishes including men’s cross country (1st), men’s indoor track, women’s indoor track, men’s outdoor track (1st), women’s outdoor track (2nd), men’s tennis, women’s tennis. Men’s golf finished 16th.

Finishing fourth in the standings was Minnesota State – Mankato with 642.25 points. The first time for the Mavericks in the top-five Cup standings, they scored with top-10 finishes in wrestling (4th), bowling (5th), men’s cross country (9th) and men’s basketball (9th). North Dakota (635) rounded out the top-five with top-10 finishes in football (5th), women’s swimming (5th), women’s basketball (5th), men’s hockey (3rd) and women’s golf (6th). This is the fifth time the Sioux have placed in the top-five overall final results for the Cup.