FINAL DIRECTORS' CUP STANDINGS

ASHLAND – In 13th place, the Southern Oregon University athletic department scored its top finish since 2018-19 in the NAIA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings, the final edition of which was released this week by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

Points in the standings are awarded based on an institution's finish at the NAIA Championships in up to 13 sports. SOU scored in 11 different sports, securing its spot by winning a national softball championship just three months after claiming the title in women's wrestling.

The Raiders' men's and women's cross country teams boosted their standing this year with matching ninth-place finishes. The women's basketball and volleyball teams both tied for 17th, the men's wrestling team was 25th, and the department earned top-40 finishes in women's outdoor track and field (32nd), men's basketball (33rd), men's outdoor track and field (37th) and women's indoor track and field (40th).

SOU was the highest-placing school in the Cascade Conference, trailed by 18th-place College of Idaho and 19th-place Eastern Oregon. Indiana Tech was the overall champion.

Each of SOU's seven best finishes in Directors' Cup history have been recorded over the last 10 years under Director of Athletics Matt Sayre. During that stretch, the Raiders have placed sixth, eighth, 13th on four occasions and 18th.

Prior to Sayre taking over in 2010, SOU had never placed higher than 22nd since the Directors' Cup was introduced at the NAIA level in 1995.