OSU Earns Second-Best Finish In Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup
STILLWATER – Following a banner year for Oklahoma State Athletics, the Cowboys and Cowgirls earned their second best finish ever in the Learfield/IMG College Directors' Cup, which measures department-wide success based on a university's finish in NCAA championship events.
Anchored by a national runner-up finish from Cowgirl golf, as well as five other top-10 national finishes, Oklahoma State finished 18th in the Director's Cup - its best mark since a 13th place finish in 2015-16.
Among Big 12 schools, OSU was second only to Texas, which won the Learfield/IMG College Directors' Cup for the first time in school history.
Starting in 2017, the scoring for the Learfield/IMG College Directors' Cup was adjusted to count 19 sports for each school, four of which must be baseball, men's & women's basketball and women's volleyball. Oklahoma State fields only 17 sports, and does not have a women's volleyball program.
OSU produced five Big 12 championship teams in 2020-21, and 10 squads earned top-20 national finishes. On top of that, 23 OSU student-athletes across 10 sports earned All-America honors, and three won Big 12 Player of the Year honors; Cade Cunningham (men's basketball), Maja Stark (women's golf), Carrie Eberle (pitcher, softball).
The Big 12 champion Cowgirl equestrian team finished third nationally in 2020-21, but equestrian is not yet an NCAA-sponsored sport and therefore not eligible to be included in the point total.
The Learfield/IMG College 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.
In addition, Oklahoma State won the all-sports Phillips 66 Bedlam Series against Oklahoma – this time by the widest margin in series history, 23-12. This marked the seventh time in the last eight years that OSU won the all-sports showdown against the Sooners.
Oklahoma State's 2020-21 National Finishes
2 - Women's Golf
3 - Men's Cross Country
3 - Wrestling
3 - Men's Golf
3^ - Equestrian
5 - Softball
9 - Soccer
17 - Men's Basketball
17 - Women's Basketball
17 - Men's Tennis
19 - Football
24 - Women's Cross Country
24 - Women's Indoor Track and Field
33 - Women's Tennis
33 - Baseball
37 - Men's Outdoor Track and Field
N/A - Men's Indoor Track and Field
N/A - Women's Outdoor Track and Field
^ Does not count toward school's finish in the Learfield/IMG Director's Cup