CLEVELAND (June 17, 2019) – An outstanding spring season that saw three Oklahoma Christian teams advance to NCAA Division II postseason play rocketed OC up the final standings in the annual Learfield Directors' Cup competition.
On the final list announced Monday, OC finished 130th with 157 points, placing the university's athletic program fourth among Heartland Conference schools and fourth among Oklahoma's 11 Division II schools. The Directors' Cup standings measure the overall strength of a university's athletic program.
OC was 180th in the Cup standings in 2015-16, its first season as a full Division II member, 208th in 2016-17 and 140th in 2017-18.
"I am extremely proud of all of the on-field success in the 2018-19 academic year," OC Athletic Director
David Lynn said. "We broke some major new ground, winning multiple conference championships and having three teams qualify for NCAA regional play for the first time ever in one year. We are constantly striving to raise the bar of excellence. I look forward to seeing what we can do in 2019=20!"
Under the scoring system for the Directors' Cup, points are awarded based on a school's finish in NCAA Championship events. All scores are counted for men's and women's basketball, baseball and women's volleyball. Additionally, only up to 11 other of the highest scores are included in the final score.
All of OC's points were generated by spring sports. The women's golf team qualified for the Division II Championship for the first time and finished 12th, earning 64.5 points. The softball team reached a regional championship round, officially tying for 17th among the 64 teams that qualified for the Division II tournament, and earned 50 points.
OC's men's golf team made the field for the South Central-West Super Regional and was credited with a 29th-place national finish, good for 42.5 points.
Dallas Baptist (Texas) finished 79th in the Directors' Cup standings with 261.75 points, edging No. 80 St. Edward's (Texas) for top honors among Heartland Conference schools. St. Edward's had 261.5 points. Lubbock Christian (Texas) – which won the Heartland Commissioner's Cup – was third among league schools in the Directors' Cup standings, in 117th place with 180 points.
After OC came St. Mary's (Texas), which was 156th with 122.5 points. Rogers State was 162nd with 115 points, Newman (Kan.) was 223rd with 54 points and Arkansas-Fort Smith was 246th with 30 points. Texas A&M International did not score any points in the standings.
Central Oklahoma led Oklahoma's Division II contingent, placing 30th with 452 points, while Oklahoma Baptist was 39th with 356.67 points and Southwestern Oklahoma State was 100th with 219 points. After OC came Southeastern Oklahoma State (141st with 142.5 points), Northeastern State (145th with 132 points), Cameron (146th with 128 points), Rogers State and Southern Nazarene (193rd with 87 points). East Central and Northwestern Oklahoma State weren't among the 268 schools that earned points.
Grand Valley State (Mich.) won the Directors' Cup with 1,004 points, followed by California-San Diego with 826 points, West Texas A&M with 730.75 points, Queens (N.C.) with 721.75 points and Indianapolis (Ind.) with 707 points.
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.
