Kentucky shows slight improvement over last year in Directors’ Cup standings

As the college sports world undergoes earth-shaking change, the University of Kentucky’s athletics teams have mostly held steady.

What the future holds, in a landscape where universities now must pay their athletes, is anyone’s guess.

The final standings for the 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup were revealed this week, and Kentucky finished 30th.

In the Directors’ Cup, points are awarded in each NCAA-sanctioned sport based on how schools fare in NCAA Tournament competition as well as in football bowls and playoff games.

Kentucky’s 30th-place finish represented a slight step up from last year, when the Wildcats were 32nd. That 32nd-place finish ended a streak of six straight completed athletics years in which UK had finished in the top 20 in the Directors’ Cup standings.

Over the past three school years prior to this one, Kentucky’s finish in the Directors’ Cup dropped from ninth (2021-22) to 18th (2022-23) to 32nd (2023-24).

Several Southeastern Conference schools finished ahead of Kentucky this school year, topped by Texas at No. 1 with 1,255.25 Directors’ Cup points.

Other SEC schools in front of UK were No. 6 Tennessee (1,078.00), No. 7 Florida (1,072.00), No. 9 Oklahoma (1,017.20), No. 11 Arkansas (966.70), No. 14 Georgia (920.00), No. 15 Texas A&M (907.75), No. 17 LSU (881.00), No. 19 Auburn (867.50), No. 22 Alabama (830.50), No. 23 South Carolina (826.75) and No. 27 Ole Miss (783.25).

Following Kentucky (745.95) at No. 30 were No. 46 Mississippi State (535.25), No. 50 Missouri (492.50) and No. 58 Vanderbilt (440.75).

Louisville checked in at No. 37 with 648.50 points.

Kentucky’s highest-performing teams were rifle (90 points), women’s volleyball (73 points), men’s track and field (69 points) and men’s basketball (64 points).

Several Wildcats teams, including football, failed to produce any Directors’ Cup points.