‘This success is worth celebrating.’ See where UK finished in final Directors’ Cup standings.
The University of Kentucky finished 14th in the final 2018-19 standings for the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup, the school’s third best finish ever.
The Directors’ Cup ranks the nation’s college sports programs on their performance in 19 sports, based on participation and success in NCAA championship events.
“We have seen outstanding individual and team success this season,” Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said in a UK news release. “This success is worth celebrating, but it’s also motivation for us because we know we can achieve so much more. We are already looking forward to the 2019-20 season, when we will continue to pursue our goal of establishing UK among the elite athletics departments in America.”
Stanford won the Directors’ Cup with 1,567.75 points, easily outdistancing second-place Michigan (1,272.25). Rounding out the top five were Florida (1,156.75, Texas (1,148.50) and Southern California (1,075.75).
UK, with 947.75 points, ranked third in the Southeastern Conference behind Florida and Louisiana State (986.83), which came in 11th overall. Texas A&M (933.75) finished one spot behind the Wildcats, at No. 15.
Kentucky’s previous best finishes came in 2016-17 (10th place) and 2013-14 (11th).
The Wildcats’ best performances came in men’s basketball, where they finished fifth based on their appearance in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, and men’s soccer, which also reached the NCAA quarterfinals. UK finished 11th among football programs, after completing its best season in the Bowl Championship Series or College Football Playoff eras.
Barnhart previously announced his goal for UK Athletics is to finish in the top five in the Directors’ Cup standings by the year 2022. That goal was announced as part of his Elite 1-3-5 initiative, which also includes goals of having every UK team win a conference or national championship and for the program to continue having a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, with the hope being for all goals to be accomplished by 2022.
Louisville finished 35th overall in the standings, seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Other Kentucky schools in the final rankings included Murray State, which finished No. 100 overall and first in the Ohio Valley Conference; Eastern Kentucky, which finished 214th overall and fifth in the OVC; and Northern Kentucky, which finished at No. 266 overall and sixth in the Horizon League.