The Aurora University Athletic Department finished the 2021-2022 academic year with another strong showing in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Division III standings. The Spartans finished 76th out of more than 420 Division III athletic programs around the United States. The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup is a comprehensive ranking of intercollegiate athletic departments based on their participation in NCAA Championship events. Once again, AU was the top Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference school in the final Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Division III standings.
Complete 2021-2022 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings
The Spartans were represented by the fall sports of women's volleyball and football with 25 points each. In the winter, AU added points with women's hockey making the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance and scoring 25 points. In the spring, AU exploded to earn 160.5 points through the participation of the women's golf, men's golf, baseball and women's lacrosse in the field at NCAA Division III Championship events. Men's Golf finished 14th overall to earn 61.5 points to lead the way for the scoring programs in the 2021-2022 year.
"Our final Learfield Cup ranking is a testament to the hard work and effort put forth by our student-athletes, coaches and staff on a daily basis," said AU Director of Athletics Jim Hamad. "We had a very good year and continue with our aggressive plan to succeed in post-season competitions. We strive to offer an exemplary experience for our student-athletes and post-season play is an integral component of meeting that goal. I am proud of what we have accomplished and even more excited for the bright future of AU athletics."
The 2021-2022 season saw AU have 10 programs have teams or individuals compete at the NCAA Division III Championship level. AU had eight teams (women's golf, women's volleyball, women's lacrosse, women's bowling, men's golf, football, baseball and men's lacrosse) win conference championships while women's hockey won a conference tournament title and a bid to the NCAA tournament.
For the eighth consecutive year of Learfield awarding Director's Cup points, AU led the way among Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) programs and was the only program to finish in the top 100, finishing 76th with 235.5 points. Benedictine University had 145.5 points in a distant 128th place, Dominican University had 135.00 points in 141st place, Concordia University Chicago had 128 points in 143rd place, followed by Wisconsin Lutheran College (194th with 82.0 points), Illinois Institute of Technology (202nd with 75.0 points), Concordia University Wisconsin (229th with 63.5 points), St. Norbert College (231st with 60 points), Milwaukee School of Engineering (240th with 50 points) and Marian University (284th with 25 points).
The previous best finishes for the AU sport programs came in 2014-2015 (50th with 329.10 points), 2017-2018 (61st with 299 points), 2016-2017 (68th place with 289.75 points), 2017-2018 (75th place with 258.0 points), 2015-2016 (78th place with 201.25 points), 1997-1998 (94th with 70 points), 2004-2005 (96th with 164 points) and 2009-2010 (102nd with 185.5 points). AU finished the 2013-2014 season in 163rd place with 115 points.
The Learfield 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 up to 18 sports in Division III -- nine women's and nine men's.
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