The 29th Director’s Cup competition ended with the University of Virginia scoring 1,105.5 points and taking home a 4th place finish. That tied for the school’s second best finish ever in the standings after taking 3rd in 2010 and 4th in 2014.
National Championship trophies in women’s swimming and diving and men’s tennis, a 3rd place finish for men’s lacrosse, a 5th place finish for men’s golf, and a 9th place finish for women’s cross-country highlight some of the major accomplishments for UVA this season. But several other women’s and men’s teams had important roles in the overall performance of the Virginia athletic program.
A look at the breakdown of each Virginia sport and the final placement or standing with the associated Director’s Cup (DC) points follows:
Virginia Fall Total – 297.00
- WXC, 9th – 69.00
- MXC, 22nd – 52.00
- FH, 9th (tie) – 53.00
- WSOC, 5th (tie) – 73.00
- MSOC, 17th (tie) – 50.00
- VB, DNQ for NCAA Tournament – 0.00
- FB, DNQ for Bowl Game – 0.00
Virginia Winter Total – 185.00
- WBB, DNQ for NCAA Tournament – 0.00
- MBB, 32nd (tie) – 25.00
- WSWM, 1st – 100.00
- MSWM, 15th – 60.00
- WITF, 31st (tie) – 42.00 (not counted)
- MITF, 28th (tie) – 46.00 (not counted)
- WR, 48th (tie) – 25.50 (not counted)
Virginia Spring Total – 623.50
- WGLF, 14th place – 49.50
- MGLF, 5th place – 72.75
- WLAX, 17th place (tie) – 25.00 (not counted)
- MLAX, 3rd (tie) – 83.00
- ROW, 10th – 60.00
- WTEN, 9th (tie) – 64.00
- MTEN, 1st – 100.00
- SB, DNQ for NCAA Tournament – 0.00
- WOTF, 17th (tie) – 56.00
- MOTF, 11th (tie) – 65.25
- BASE, 7th (tie) – 73.00
Before we delve too deeply into an assessment of this year’s performance it might be interesting to look at some trivia from past competitions. A few challenge questions follow with the answers at the end of this article:
- How many top three finishes has the ACC generated during the 29 years of DC competition?
- What school has the most 2nd place finishes in the DC competition?
- Which five schools have had top 20 finishes in every DC competition?
- What current ACC schools have had top 20 DC finishes?
Total point contributions from the Virginia women’s and men’s sports programs were somewhat evenly distributed during this DC competition. The men contributed 581.0 points (54.6% of the total) and the women contributed 524.5 (47.4%) points toward the 1105.5-point total. Ten of the women’s sports counted toward the point total including the two mandatory sports of volleyball and basketball. Nine of the men’s sports counted toward the point total including the two scoring mandatory sports (basketball and baseball).
Also, there were four scoring sports that did not count toward the point total because of the 19-sport limitation. These were wrestling (25.5 points), men’s indoor track and field (46.0), women’s indoor track and field (42.0), and women’s lacrosse (25.0). Virginia struggled with the mandatory sports requirement logging a paltry 98.0 points (25.0 from men’s basketball and 73.0 points from baseball, while neither volleyball nor women’s basketball scored) out of a possible 400.0 points. For UVA to advance up the DC scoreboard the mandatory sports will need to contribute to a greater extent than seen this past DC season.
The 10 scoring women’s sports averaged 52.45 points per sport while the nine men’s scoring sports averaged 64.6 points per sport. For comparison, when equated to a Director’s Cup equivalent, the women’s average point total is equivalent to a 21st place finish in the 64 team, non-bracket scoring system and the men’s average point total is equivalent to a 15th place finish. When evaluating the total point performance, the average per sport score becomes 58.18 points per sport for the 19 scored sports and equates to a 16th place finish in the 64 team, non-bracket scoring system. Another method of comparison shows that 17 of the 25 NCAA sanctioned sports in which UVA participates finished in the top 25 of their sport, four of the teams finished between 28th and 48th place, and only four of the teams did not qualify for postseason or bowl play.
You may be interested to see how these results might have compared to the earlier DC scoring of a maximum of 10 men and 10 women sports counting toward the point total with no mandatory sports requirement. The difference is not entirely inconsequential since 20 sports would have counted toward the scoring total for Virginia with both the men’s and the women’s sports reaching the maximum permissible threshold. The point total would have been approximately 1,219.0 points and that would have been the second highest point total for the entire DC competition.
Not surprisingly the contributions from several of the upward trending sports had a major influence on the overall performance during this Cup. The combined cross county scores exceeded the five-year average by 28.38 points, the combined swimming and diving scores exceeded the five-year average by 30.0 points, the combined golf scores exceeded the five-year average by 37.75 points, and the combined outdoor track and field scores exceeded the five-year average by 35.4 points. The combined indoor track and field scores exceeded the five-year average by 44.7 points, but these scores were not counted because of the 15 optional sport limitations. These positive upward trends along with the sustained performances in the other sports bode well for the future.
Comparing To Virginia Historical Results
The following table gives a complete run-down of UVA’s performance by season for each DC competition.
The total points scored were significantly above the five-year average (19.07% above average) and 10-year average (13.57%). The point total for the Fall season was significantly above the five-year average (61.33%) and 10-year average (32.95%), the point total for the Winter season was significantly below the five-year average (-29.82%) and 10-year average (-26.05%), and the point total for the Spring season was significantly above the five-year average (29.69%) and 10-year average (24.74%). It should be noted that the Winter season point total was significantly affected by the loss of a combined 113.5 points from women’s indoor track and field, men’s indoor track and field, and wrestling since they were part of the sports scores excluded above the 15 optional sports permitted. The Winter season total would have been 298.5 including the omitted points and would have been above the five-year average (11.69%) and 10-year average (16.19%) for the Winter season sports, some of which occurred prior to the mandatory sports change.
There are a few other items related to the performances during recent DC competitions worth mentioning. The Spring season is the king when generating points toward the overall point totals. On average, the Spring contributes 51.8% of the five-year average and 51.4% of the 10-year average. Another item worth noting is that Virginia has put up between 830.0 and 1,105.5 points during the five years of the new scoring system with an average point total return of 977.2 points. This could infer that this has become the new baseline score, i.e., when predicting future scores, one could use this average score as a starting point and then plus or minus from that baseline.
| DIRECTORS' CUP | ||||||||
| UVA HISTORICAL RESULTS | ||||||||
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING | TOTAL | |||||
| SEASON | POINTS | PLACE | POINTS | PLACE | POINTS | PLACE | POINT | PLACE |
| 1993-1994 | 112.00 | 28 | 230.00 | 20 | 171.00 | (*) | 513.00 | 19 |
| 1994-1995 | 162.50 | 15 | 240.00 | 13 | 61.50 | (*) | 464.00 | 19 |
| 1995-1996 | 216.50 | 7 | 64.00 | 33 | 245.00 | (*) | 525.50 | 19 |
| 1996-1997 | 139.50 | 18 | 176.00 | 22 | 203.50 | (*) | 519.00 | 22 |
| 1997-1998 | 160.00 | 6 | 70.00 | 20 | 190.00 | (*) | 420.00 | 13 |
| 1998-1999 | 130.00 | 9 | 90.00 | 21 | 270.00 | (*) | 490.00 | 8 |
| 1999 - 2000 | 140.00 | 20 | 233.50 | 24 | 325.00 | (*) | 698.50 | 13 |
| 2000-2001 | 120.00 | 26 | 161.00 | 44 | 206.50 | (*) | 487.50 | 30 |
| 2001-2002 | 189.00 | 11 | 223.00 | 20 | 214.50 | (*) | 626.50 | 27 |
| 2002-2003 | 172.00 | 18 | 198.00 | 31 | 320.00 | (*) | 690.00 | 19 |
| 2003-2004 | 128.00 | 32 | 175.00 | 20 | 274.00 | (*) | 577.00 | 30 |
| 2004-2005 | 151.00 | 24 | 166.00 | 34 | 491.50 | (*) | 808.50 | 13 |
| 2005-2006 | 181.00 | 16 | 132.00 | 20 | 298.50 | (*) | 611.50 | 26 |
| 2006-2007 | 303.00 | 7 | 182.50 | 20 | 459.50 | (*) | 945.00 | 13 |
| 2007-2008 | 218.00 | 14 | 198.00 | 26 | 453.00 | (*) | 869.00 | 17 |
| 2008-2009 | 244.00 | 11 | 248.00 | 19 | 567.00 | (*) | 1059.00 | 8 |
| 2009-2010 | 337.00 | 2 | 273.50 | 8 | 642.75 | (*) | 1253.25 | 3 |
| 2010-2011 | 244.00 | 10 | 225.50 | 20 | 622.50 | (*) | 1092.00 | 7 |
| 2011-2012 | 157.00 | 27 | 242.50 | 30 | 510.50 | (*) | 910.00 | 15 |
| 2012-2013 | 235.50 | 19 | 156.00 | 33 | 454.00 | (*) | 845.50 | 20 |
| 2013-2014 | 323.00 | 5 | 228.50 | 15 | 567.00 | (*) | 1118.50 | 4 |
| 2014-2015 | 303.00 | 9 | 268.00 | 10 | 558.50 | (*) | 1129.50 | 6 |
| 2015-2016 | 295.00 | 11 | 288.75 | 11 | 504.75 | (*) | 1088.50 | 8 |
| 2016-2017 | 244.00 | 6 | 230.50 | 25 | 387.50 | (*) | 862.00 | 19 |
| 2017-2018 | 250.50 | 12 | 231.50 | 24 | 348.00 | (*) | 830.00 | 21 |
| 2018-2019 | 226.00 | 14 | 344.00 | 38 | 467.50 | (*) | 1037.50 | 8 |
| 2019-2020 | NO COMPETITION BECAUSE OF COVID-19 | |||||||
| 2020-2021 | 83.00 | 58 | 275.50 | 38 | 611.75 | (*) | 970.25 | 11 |
| 2021-2022 | 117.00 | 53 | 236.50 | 39 | 589.00 | (*) | 942.50 | 11 |
| 2022-2023 | 297.00 | 9 | 185.00 | 12 | 623.50 | (*) | 1105.50 | 4 |
| 5 Year Average | 184.10 | 28.6 | 263.60 | 32.8 | 480.75 | (*) | 928.45 | 14.0 |
| 10 Year Average | 223.40 | 21.4 | 250.18 | 26.3 | 499.85 | (*) | 973.43 | 12.3 |
| 28 Year Average | 199.34 | 17.4 | 206.71 | 24.2 | 393.37 | (*) | 799.41 | 15.3 |
| (*) Total sport placement reported in lieu of individual spring sport placement. | ||||||||
| Note: Averaged results are for the years preceding the 2022-23 competition year (excluding 2019-20). | ||||||||
| All tabulated data based on information from the NACDA website. | ||||||||
More Director’s Cup Tidbits
- The 1,105.5 points that Virginia scored during this DC competition is the 4th highest all time point total scored by UVA. The highest point total was achieved in the 2009-10 season with 1,253.25 points resulting in a 3rd place finish. The lowest point total occurred during the 1997-98 season with 420.0 points resulting in a 13th place DC finish.
- Virginia has had a top 30 finish in all 29 DC competitions and this year’s 4th place finish marks the third time that UVA has finished in the top four.
- This marks the 26th time in 29 Director’s Cup competitions that UVA has finished in the top 25. UVA currently has a 16-year streak of top 25 finishes. UVA also has placed the bar quite high in the ACC placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd within the conference in 23 of the 29 competitions.
- This year’s 4th place finish pushes the average standing for Virginia, inclusive of the 2022-23 scores, into 15th place over the 29 DC competitions, 11th place over the 10-year period, and 11th place over the five-year period.
- When comparing Power 5 conferences, the ACC finished second to the SEC by placing six teams in the top 25. The ACC was led by UVA (4th) followed by North Carolina (8th), Duke (16th), Florida State (17th), NC State (19th), and Notre Dame (20th). The SEC led all conferences with eight top 25 finishes (5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 18th, and 24th). Trailing the SEC and the ACC were the PAC12 with five (1st, 10th, 14th, 21st, and 22nd), the B1G Ten with three (3rd, 11th, and 15th), and the Big12 with three (2nd, 23rd, and 25th). Since the Big12 currently has 10 member schools it seems prudent to use that number of schools to generate a fair comparison of conference performance. Comparing the top 10 schools from the Power 5 conferences results in the SEC generating an average finish of 16th followed by the ACC (25th), Pac12 (27th), B1G 10 (28th), and Big12 (46th).
- Stanford University and the University of Florida have kept a level of consistency over the history of the DC competition that no other school can match. Stanford’s lowest finish is 2nd and UF’s lowest finish is 7th. For comparison, all other schools with at least one top 20 finish have had at least one season of finishing 16th or worse.
- UVA has scored a total of 23,846.5 points (excluding the 340.0 points disallowed by overage sports) in the 29 DC competitions with 13 women’s sports contributing and 12 men’s sports contributing to the point totals. The women’s program scored 11,794.0 points (49.46% of the total points) and the men’s program scored 12,052.5 points (50.54%) over that period. On a yearly basis the 13 women’s sports contribute an average of 406.69 points and the 12 men’s sports contribute an average of 415.60 points. On a per sport basis the women contribute, on average, approximately 31.28 points per sport and the men contribute, on average, approximately 34.63 points per sport.
- The Virginia women’s sports contributing the most total points in the 29 DC competitions are rowing (1,803.5 points), soccer (1,689.5 points), and swimming and diving (1,662.5 points). The men’s sports with the highest point total contributions are tennis (1,596.0 points), lacrosse (1,581.0 points), and soccer (1,565.0 points).
And wrapping up, here are the answers to the challenge questions:
- The ACC has achieved eight top three finishes. UNC has six (one first place, three second place, and two third place), UVA has one (third place), and ND has one (third place).
- UCLA leads for the most 2nd place finishes with eight. Curiously, UCLA also leads for the most 3rd place finishes with seven.
- The five schools with top 20 finishes in every Cup are Stanford, UF, UCLA, UNC, and the University of Texas.
- Seven current ACC schools have top 20 DC finishes. UNC with 29 out of 29 top 20 finishes leads followed by Virginia (23), ND (19), Duke (17), FSU (16), NCSU (3) and Clemson (1).
