Kent State Leads MAC in Learfield Directors' Cup Standings Once Again
7/3/2018 10:15:00 AM | General
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University department of athletics continued its tradition of success on the national stage, as the final 2017-18 Division I Learfield Directors' Cup standings were recently announced.
The Golden Flashes totaled 294.25 points to lead all Mid-American Conference schools and ranked 75th among 351 NCAA Division I schools. Kent State finished ahead of several schools from the Autonomy-5 conferences, including Boston College, Georgia Tech, Pitt, Rutgers and Washington State.
This year's point total is the fourth-most a MAC school has ever posted in the 25-year history of the Directors' Cup. Kent State set the conference record with 400 points a year ago and is the only MAC school to ever surpass the 300-point mark, having also done so during the 2000-01 competition year.
The Flashes have consistently outperformed their conference peers, claiming the MAC's top spot in 18 of 25 years. Additionally, Kent State has posted 10 top-75 finishes and 20 top-100 finishes.
The athletics department's mission of graduating student-athletes and winning championships has been instrumental in regularly achieving such high marks. Four Kent State programs (women's soccer, baseball, women's golf, men's golf) won a MAC regular season or tournament title in addition to three runner-up finishes and 18 individual MAC titles.
Kent State student-athletes boasted a 3.161 GPA for the 2017-18 academic year, as the department recorded its 13th-consecutive term of 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA. Additionally, a record-high 95 student-athletes boasted a 4.0 GPA (fall/spring), while 46 percent finished the year with a 3.4 GPA or better.
Twelve different Golden Flashes across 11 sports combined for 16 All-America honors. Gabrielle Figueroa (track and field), TJ Lawson (track and field), Craig Stevens, Jr. (track and field) and Rachel Stypinski (gymnastics) led the way with two All-America nods apiece. Holly Speers (softball) and Joey Murray (baseball) were both named as top-25 National Player of the Year finalists.
Kent State's nationally-ranked golf programs combined for 140.25 points following outstanding performances at the NCAA Championships. The women's team tied for fifth for the second straight year to match the best finish in program history and the men's team placed 10th. Wrestling earned 51.5 points with its 22nd-place at the NCAA Championships, while baseball, gymnastics and indoor track and field also scored points in the final standings.
For the full Learfield Directors' Cup standings, click HERE (PDF).
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