Nebraska Athletics Ties Its Best Directors' Cup Finish in 25 Years

Husker teams posted nine top-10 seasons en route to the best final ranking since joining the Big Ten Conference.

Nebrasketball's run to the Sweet 16 was one of nine Husker programs to finish in the top 10 nationally. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A year after posting its best finish since joining the Big Ten Conference, Nebraska Athletics did even better.

Last year, the Huskers came in at No. 21 in the final Directors' Cup standings. This year, that ranking jumped up to No. 17.

Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen's tenure has seen the two best Directors' Cup finishes for the Huskers since joining the Big Ten Conference. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

This ties the 2009-10 year as the best finish for the department since 2000-01. That year saw Nebraska end up 13th and was the final year in a run of seven straight top-15 finishes.

Nebraska has made steady improvement over the past five years. The 2021-22 year saw the Huskers with an all-time low finish at 49th, but that was followed by improvements to 29th, 22nd, 21st, and now 17th.

The Directors' Cup began in 1993. The all-sports competition takes up to 19 scores from each school, based on how different sports finish in the national standings. The 19 scores are pulled from five required sports—men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, women's soccer, and volleyball—and the next 14 highest scoring sports.

Nebraska wrestling finished third at nationals, powered by a pair of finalists in Antrell Taylor (157) and Christopher Minto (174). | Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska sponsors 23 total sports, with 16 scoring during the 2024-25 year. NU had nine programs post top-10 finishes to earn at least 55 points each: wrestling, men's gymnastics, softball, volleyball, bowling, rifle, women's outdoor track & field, men's outdoor track & field, and men's basketball.

Wrestling led the department with the top finish, taking third at nationals. Men's gymnastics finished fourth.

Volleyball, which was undefeated through the regular season in the first year under Dani Busboom Kelly, was knocked out in the regional finals by the eventual national champion. Softball, back at the Women's College World Series for the first time in more than a decade, was also eliminated by the team that would win it all.

Nebraska softball returned to Oklahoma City and the WCWS after sweeping Oklahoma State in a Super Regional at Bowlin Stadium. | Nebraska Athletics

Bowling and rifle finished fifth, with the outdoor track & field teams both posting top-10 finishes earlier this month.

Men's basketball, although with a ninth-place finish, was perhaps the story of the year. Famously, the only power conference program without an NCAA Tournament victory before this season, the Huskers won twice in Oklahoma City to reach the Sweet 16.

Soccer was Nebraska's only required sport to earn a zero in the scoring.

From 1993-94 to 2000-01, Nebraska never finished worse than 18th in the final standings. Those eight years also saw five top-10 finishes and a peak at No. 4 in 1996-97.

The Huskers celebrated their third straight Big Ten title in 2025. | Amarillo Mullen

Since that run through 2001-02, Nebraska had only finished in the top 10 twice: 2005-06 and 2009-10. Now, the department has added another such finish.

Besides the national success, Nebraska also did well at the conference level in winning a trio of Big Ten championships. Volleyball finished with a third straight title, while softball swept the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. The Huskers also had baseball and men's basketball finish second in their respective regular seasons.

Below is a table of all the Husker sports with their final place and the points that came with it. An asterisk indicates a required sport for scoring.

Sports	Place	Points
Wrestling	3	85
Men's Gymnastics	4	80
Softball	5	78
Volleyball*	5	73
Bowling	5	65
Rifle	5	55
Women's Outdoor Track & Field	8	69.75
Men's Basketball	9	64
Men's Outdoor Track & Field	9	69
Women's Indoor Track & Field	12	63.75
Women's Gymnastics	25	45.5
Men's Indoor Track & Field	26	46.5
Women's Swimming	27	47
Baseball*	33	37.5
Women's Basketball*	33	25
Football	54	25
Women's Cross Country	N/A	0
Men's Tennis	N/A	0
Soccer*	N/A	0
Men's Cross Country	N/A	0
Men's Golf	N/A	0
Women's Golf	N/A	0
Women's Tennis	N/A	0

Below are Nebraska's finish in the Directors' Cup standings since 1993-94.

Year	Finish
2025-26	16
2024-25	21
2023-24	22
2022-23	29
2021-22	49
2020-21	35
2019-20	No standings due to COVID-19
2018-19	48
2017-18	44
2016-17	37
2015-16	27
2014-15	39
2013-14	23
2012-13	24
2011-12	40
2010-11	33
2009-10	17
2008-09	31
2007-08	31
2006-07	27
2005-06	19
2004-05	21
2003-04	32
2002-03	24
2001-02	22
2000-01	13
1999-00	6
1998-99	12
1997-98	9
1996-97	4
1995-96	8
1994-95	9

2026 Learfield Directors' Cup Top 25

Place	School	Points
1	Texas	1,322
2	Stanford	1,263.5
3	UCLA	1,199.25
4	North Carolina	1,166.75
5	Virginia	1,148.75
6	Florida	1,104.5
7	USC	1,095.5
8	Georgia	1,081.25
9	Michigan	1,076.75
10	Ohio State	1,071.25
11	Duke	1,039.25
12	Alabama	980
13	Texas A&M	968.75
14	Arkansas	965.75
15	Tennessee	964.75
16	Oklahoma	930.75
17	Nebraska	929
18	LSU	926.75
19	Notre Dame	898.5
20	Princeton	878.5
21	Penn State	864.5
22	NC State	860
23	Oregon	783
24	Wisconsin	754
25	Auburn	730

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.