COLUMBIA, Mo. – The latest standings are out for the Division I Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, and the University of Missouri is sitting in the top-25 for the first time in program history.

The current rankings show Mizzou sitting at 25th – the highest standing at any point in time for MU since the rankings began in 1993-94 – with 408.75 points.

Mizzou jumped up thanks to a slew of strong performances at NCAA Championship events recently by several programs, including wrestling (4th place at NCAAs), men’s swimming & diving (11th), women’s swimming & diving (14th), women’s indoor track & field (15th) and men’s indoor track & field (46th).  In all, Mizzou has had seven sports score in the Learfield Cup so far this season, with six of them posting impressive top-25 national finishes.  The other two sports to score for Mizzou came this past fall in the way of football (11th) and soccer (17th).

The lofty ranking puts Mizzou in position to challenge its previous best final ranking in the Directors’ Cup.  The previous high-water mark for Mizzou was a 36th-place final showing for the 2008-09 season.  The highest that Mizzou had ever stood in the rankings at any point in time was a 27th-place spot heading into the spring sport season in that same 2008-09 year.

“We’ve had a goal of being a top-25 comprehensive program for a long time,” said Director of Athletics Mike Alden.  “This certainly doesn’t signal an arrival or a time to let up, but it is very rewarding to see this achievement and reflect on how proud we are of our student-athletes, coaches and staffs for their tireless efforts.  We’re confident that there will be even greater accomplishments to come,” he said.

From 1993-94 through 1997-98, Mizzou’s average yearly finish in the Directors’ Cup was 98th.  Since Alden took over in August of 1998, that average yearly rank has improved to 47th in the 16 years from 1997-98 through 2013-14.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup is a national all-sport standing scoring system, assigning points to each institution for up to 20 sport programs, including 10 men’s and 10 women’s programs.  The cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.  For more information on the standings, please visit www.directorscup.org.

— MU Sports Information —