Boosted by NCAA Championships by the women’s soccer and wrestling teams, the Nittany Lions placed No. 20 in the final 2015-16 Directors’ Cup rankings. Penn State is one of only nine programs nationwide to have finished in the Top 25 in all 23 Learfield Directors’ Cup final standings.

Eighteen Penn State programs competed in their respective NCAA Championships and the football team played in the Taxslayer Bowl in 2015-16. Six Nittany Lion programs finished No. 6 nationally or higher in their NCAA Championship: women’s soccer (champion), wrestling (champion), women’s lacrosse (semifinals), men’s gymnastics (fifth), men’s and women’s fencing (sixth). Penn State earned two NCAA and five Big Ten titles in 2015-16.

“The Directors’ Cup is among the metrics we use to gauge comprehensive excellence and we are pleased to earn another Top 20 finish,” stated Sandy Barbour, Director of Athletics. “We have had many team and individual championships and accomplishments this year. Our entire ICA team strives for comprehensive excellence and with continued hard work and investment in student and program success, our drive is to continually compete for the top spot.”

The women’s lacrosse team paced the Nittany Lions during the spring, earning 83 Directors’ Cup points by advancing to the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 1999. Led by Coach Missy Doherty, the Nittany Lions fell to eventual national champion North Carolina, 12-11, in the semifinals. Ranked No. 11 at the end of the regular season, Penn State defeated Winthrop, No. 2 seed Florida and No. 7 seed Penn en route to the national semifinals.

The men’s track and field squad placed 17th at the NCAA Championships to earn 57 Directors’ Cup points. Directed by Coach John Gondak, three Nittany Lions earned All-America honors – Isaiah Harris, Brannon Kidder and Brian Leap – all of whom participated in the recent U.S. Olympic trials.

The Penn State men’s tennis team delivered 50 Directors’ Cup points. Led by Coach Jeff Zinn, the No. 37 Nittany Lions earned their second NCAA Championship berth in the past three years, advancing to the second round. Penn State defeated No. 25 Columbia in the NCAA first round before falling to No. 1 and eventual national champion Virginia in the second round.

The men’s golf team, directed by Greg Nye, the Northeast Region Coach of the Year, earned an NCAA regional berth to add to the Nittany Lions’ Directors’ Cup total.

The Nittany Lions earned 878.0 Directors’ Cup points. Stanford won its 22nd consecutive Directors’ Cup.

The Learfield Directors’ Cup standings were 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 up to 20 sports — 10 women’s and 10 men’s.

Penn State student-athletes have an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 88 percent and have earned 193 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America selections, the fourth-highest total among Division I programs. The Nittany Lions have won 76 team national championships and 97 Big Ten Conference crowns all-time and their 29 NCAA Championships since 1992-93 are the most of any Big Ten institution.