UVA soccer led the way in a strong fall season
With the fall season in the books, the Learfield Directors' Cup has published its final standings for the fall, and the Virginia Cavaliers stand in 5th place. Stanford has taken the lead for good, with Michigan State, Florida State, and North Carolina also moving into the top 5.
The Hoos actually placed first in the previous update, before football and water polo allowed 4 teams to move ahead. Still, with 323 points, the fall season is UVA's most successful since 2009, when Virginia won a soccer national championship to finish the fall with 337 points - that year, the program finished 3rd overall in the Cup.
Men's and women's soccer led the way for Virginia - both made it to the semifinal round, earning "3rd place" finishes, and 83 points each. Women's cross country finished in 9th, while the men placed 13th, each earning significant points, while the 9th place finish by field hockey rounded out the season. The Hoos obviously came up empty in football once again, as did top-ten ranked schools Penn State and Colorado.
(You can read about the Directors' Cup's scoring structure here. Interestingly, though Penn State finished 7-5, they are ineligible to participate in the postseason. Thus, they did not qualify as a "bowl game loser" and forfeited 25 points that would have moved them in front of Virginia and UNC).
The ACC continues to lead the way, placing three teams in the top 5 and five in the top 10, with Notre Dame finishing 9th and Duke 10th. Further down the list, Maryland comes in at 21, Syracuse is 26, Wake Forest is 27, Virginia Tech is 33, Boston College 36th, Clemson 64th, NCSU 86th, Miami 113rd, Pitt 133rd, and Georgia Tech brings up the rear in 148th place.
Looking ahead, winter is generally the program's weakest season, (while those cold-weather schools with programs like skiing, ice hockey, and rifle get a boost). However, the basketball team and wrestling team are both on their way to positive results, and the track and swimming teams are in good shape as well. UVA always dominates the spring, and should be able to pick up big points once again.
After a landmark 2009-2010, when the Hoos ended the year in 3rd place, the program has seen a bit of a drop-off, finishing in 7th, 15th, and 20th. A return to the top 10 in the final Directors' Cup standings looks promising this year.
A quick breakdown of how the top 10 teams earned their points is below - or check out the full standings here:
Cross Country (W)
Cross Country (M)
Field Hockey (W
Football
Soccer (W)
Soccer (M)
Volleyball (W)
Waterpolo (M)
Rank
Team
Conference
Total
Place
Points
Place
Points
Place
Points
Place
Points
Place
Points
Place
Points
Place
Points
Place
Points
1
Stanford
Pac 12
461.25
11
66
19
55
0
0
10
66.75
9
64
9
64
5
73
3
72.5
2
Michigan State
Big Ten
382.5
6
73.5
32
27
5
60
3
85
0
0
5
73
9
64
0
0
3
Florida State
ACC
351.5
8
70.5
32
27
0
0
1
100
2
90
0
0
9
64
0
0
4
North Carolina
ACC
333
0
0
17
57
3
83
26
45
5
73
17
50
33
25
0
0
5
Virginia
ACC
323
9
69
13
63
9
25
0
0
3
83
3
83
0
0
0
0
6
Penn State
Big Ten
315
25
49
32
27
9
25
0
0
17
50
9
64
1
100
0
0
6
Wisconsin
Big Ten
315
21
53
9
69
0
0
21
53
0
0
17
50
2
90
0
0
8
Notre Dame
ACC
310
29
45
23
51
0
0
24
50
9
64
1
100
0
0
0
0
9
Duke
ACC
293
32
28
0
0
2
90
22
52
5
73
0
0
17
50
0
0
10
Colorado
Pac 12
286
7
72
1
100
0
0
0
0
9
64
0
0
17
50
0
0