UCLA Continues Overall Athletic Success, Placing 2nd in Directors? Cup
The Bruin men's water polo team won UCLA's record 112th NCAA Championship in the fall, and three teams finished second nationally – men’s soccer fell to Virginia on penalty kicks, women's water polo lost by a single goal scored on a penalty shot in the game’s final 11 seconds, and women's tennis battled to the end of their championship match with Vanderbilt but couldn’t capitalize down the stretch. All told, seven Bruin teams earned Top 5 national finishes, and 12 finished in the Top 10 overall.
Developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today, the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup awards points based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women’s and 10 men’s. UCLA has 11 men's sports and 13 women's sports eligible for points and earned its points from 19 teams.
The 2014-15 Directors' Cup was won by Stanford, which totaled 1,448 points among their 30 eligible sports. The Pac-12 Conference went 1-2-3 in the standings, with Stanford first, UCLA second and USC third.
This is UCLA’s highest finish since also placing second in 2007-08 and the Bruins highest point total (1,236) since scoring 1,257 in 2006-07.
The following UCLA teams earned points in the 2014-15 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup:
M. Water Polo (1st/100)
M. Soccer (2nd/90)
W. Tennis (2nd/90)
W. Water Polo (2nd/90)
Softball (5th/78)
W. Soccer (5th/73)
M. Golf (5th/72.75)
Gymnastics (7th/68.25)
Football (10th/67.5)
W. Volleyball (9th/64)
M. Basketball (9th/64)
M. Tennis (9th/64)
M. Cross Country (18th/56)
W. Swimming & Diving (23rd/51)
W. Cross Country (27th/47)
Baseball (17th/50)
W. Golf (15th/50)
W. Indoor Track & Field (28th/45.5)
M. Indoor Track & Field (62nd/5)
Additionally, the UCLA men finished 6th in the Capital One Cup, while the UCLA women finished 10th. The Capital One Cup is awarded annually to each of the best men's and women's Division I college athletics programs in the country. Points toward the Capital One Cup are earned and tracked throughout the year based on final standings of NCAA Championships and final official coaches' polls. These are the third Top 10 finishes in the last four years for both the men’s and women’s programs. The UCLA men won the Capital One Cup in 2012-13 and placed third in 2011-12. The Bruin women were second in both 2011-12 and 2013-14.