Friday, March 31, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Washington continues to lead all GNAC institutions in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Division II Winter Standings, which were released on Thursday.

Western Washington sits in in 41st place and is one of four GNAC teams in the top 100 of the standings, which evaluates an athletic program’s success based on an institution’s finish in the NCAA Championships. The winter rankings include finishes in men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s indoor track and field as well as in the non-GNAC championship sports of fencing, women’s ice hockey, rifle, skiing, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and men’s wrestling.

The Vikings are the No. 2 West Region institution in the rankings with 238.5 points after leading the region in the fall rankings. The Vikings earned 25 points by advancing to the women’s basketball West Regional and 27 points for its 45th-place men’s finish at the Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Alaska vaulted to No. 61 in the standings and sixth among West Region teams thanks to its finishes in non-GNAC championship sports. The Nanooks won the National Collegiate Rifle Championship to earn 100 points. They were the only Division II institution to score points in rifle. Alaska also earned 69 points with a seventh-place finish in the NCAA Skiing Championships.

Northwest Nazarene sits in 84th place after the men’s basketball team reached the West Regional and the men’s track and field team placed 34th at the indoor championships. Simon Fraser is in 99th place, receiving 44 points for a 29th-place women’s finish at the Indoor Track and Field Championships and 26 points for a 40th place at the Division II Wrestling Championships.

Other conference teams in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings include Alaska Anchorage in 145th place (79 points) Central Washington and Montana State Billings in a tie for 145th place (75 points), Seattle Pacific in 165th place (51.5 points) and Saint Martin’s in 201st place (25 points).

Colorado Mines leads the Learfield Directors’ Cup with 763.25 points, followed by Wingate (676.25 points), Grand Valley State (661.5 points), West Texas A&M (547 points) and Minnesota State (457.5 points). Azusa Pacific is the top-ranked West Region team in 14th place with 338 points.

The Learfield College 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 NCAA and NAIA Championships. Separate standings are published for each of the NCAA’s three divisions as well as the NAIA. The spring rankings will be announced on June 13.