Daemen Is Tops Among East Region Schools In Current Learfield Directors' Cup Standings

Wildcats Rank 37th Nationally Among Division II Institutions

4/4/2024 10:07:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen University Department of Athletics ranks first among East Region institutions and is among the Top 40 schools in all of Division II in the 2023-24 Learfield Directors' Cup Standings following the winter season. The current overall rankings, which includes all fall and winter sports, were released today.

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 at the NCAA Championships.

Daemen has totaled 241.00 points through the fall and winter seasons, placing the Wildcats 37th out of the 213 Division II schools included in the standings. Daemen totaled 118 points and ranked 39th at the end of the fall season and recorded 123 points during the winter season. 37th is the highest the Wildcats have ever ranked in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings since Daemen gained NCAA Division II status in 2015.

Grand Valley State University tops the Division II standings with 792.50 points. Colorado School of Mines (632.50), Wingate University (539.00), West Texas A&M University (481.50) and the University of Colorado Mesa (465.50) round out the top five.

Daemen ranks the highest among East Region institutions, which consists of schools from the East Coast Conference (ECC), the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). Daemen edged out Southern New Hampshire University (38th, 238.00 points) for the top ranking in the region. The top five East Region teams include Daemen of the ECC, Southern New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce University (48th, 205.50 points) and Bentley University (68th, 176.00 points) of the NE-10, and Roberts Wesleyan University (76th, 164.50 points) of the ECC.

Daemen's outstanding winter season was highlighted by a run to the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Division II Tournament by the women's basketball team. The women's basketball team accounted for 73 of Daemen's 123 points. The men's basketball team earned the other 50 points after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Daemen has had five of its athletic teams make an appearance in their respective NCAA Championships so far this year. This past fall the women's volleyball team advanced to the "Sweet 16" of its tournament, while the men's and women's cross country teams both placed in the top five of their respective NCAA regional races.

It was also announced yesterday that following the winter season Daemen sits atop the 2023-24 Commissioner's Cup standings. The Commissioner's Cup is emblematic of the league's top programs across all of the conference's championship sports. So far in 2023-24, the women's volleyball team has claimed the ECC regular-season and tournament titles. The women's soccer team finished second in the regular season standings (its best finish ever) and advanced to the championship game of the ECC Tournament for the first time in program history. The men's and women's cross country teams both placed second at the ECC Championships and the women's tennis team made its fourth-straight appearance in the ECC Tournament semifinals. The women's basketball team claimed the ECC regular season and tournament titles and the men's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the ECC tournament. The women's track & field team placed fifth at the ECC Indoor Championships, while the men placed seventh. It marks the first time since Daemen joined the ECC that the Wildcats have topped the Commissioner's Cup standings.

Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts

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