FHSU Sports Information Department
CLEVELAND – Fort Hays State continues to hold strong among the top 15 nationally in the most recent update of the Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings, released on Thursday, March 16. FHSU closed out the fall ranked seventh in the standings, and now sit at 12th with over 300 points generated in the standings. FHSU still leads all schools from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and the Central Region of NCAA Division II.
Fort Hays State now has 300.5 points in the standings following a total of 107.5 points generated by its national qualifiers in men’s indoor track and field and wrestling. With a 12th-place national finish, wrestling’s four national qualifiers (Jon Inman, Brandon Ball, Greg Tooley, and Christian Lance) generated 64.5 points in the standings, while Dillando Allotey and Brett Meyer gave FHSU a 30th place finish at the indoor track and field championships, producing 43 points.
Tack this on to the 193 points generated by fall sports and Fort Hays State is one of 12 schools to eclipse the 300-point mark so far. Grand Valley State (Mich.) has a strong lead in the standings with 651.5 points, with Queens (N.C.) next on the list at 428.5 points. Colorado School of Mines, Wingate, and Adams State are the only other schools with at least 400 points. Finishes in the NCAA Tournament for basketball have yet to be determined for the standings.
Next on the list among MIAA schools is Lindenwood at 16th with 269 points. The Lions made a splash in the standings by finishing fifth and seventh nationally in swimming and diving to generate 144 points, then tacked on 28 more points in women’s indoor track and field. Central Missouri is 21st in the standings with 248 points.
Fort Hays State continues to lead all Central Region schools in NCAA Division II, with Minnesota State of the NSIC now on its heels in 13th with 294.25 points. The top performer from the GAC currently is Harding at 95 points.
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has three teams inside the top 10 of the standings, while the South Atlantic Conference and Great Northwest Athletic Conference each have two.
However, the competitive balance in the MIAA is unmatched as the conference has 11 of its 14 schools in the top 100. With 10 of 18 members inside the top 100, the PSAC is the closest in terms of total teams inside the top 100.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings are based off of national finishes in NCAA Championship sports. The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. The next Division II & III standings will be released Thursday, March 30.