Texas Longhorns Secures Third-Ever Directors Cup

Late surges from the Texas Longhorns softball, track and field as well as championships in volleyball and rowing help bring home the Directors Cup once again to Austin.

University of Texas at Austin athletic director Chris Del Conte celebrates with head coach Steve Sarkisian after the 49-21 win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship game at AT&T stadium on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023 in Arlington. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman /

After a favorable placing in the Track and Field NCAA championships, Texas Athletics has secured its third-ever Learfield Directors Cup.

NACDA Directors' Cup, as it's otherwise known, is an annual award given to the nation’s best athletic department. Thanks to its B12 championship runs in sports like golf, softball, track and field, swim and dive, men’s tennis, women’s basketball, and football, the Longhorns have been awarded the cup in its 30th year of competition.

Texas has now secured three of the last four Directors Cups, losing out on four in a row when Stanford won it in the previous year. The Cardinal has dominated the competition, winning 26 of 30 titles and winning 25 straight from 1995 to 2019. Florida won the first-ever award and is the only other team to win aside from Texas and Stanford.

The Longhorns softball team will receive high praise for its involvement in securing the award. Not only did the team secure second place in the NCAA Women’s College World Series, but it knocked off Stanford twice in the process, ending the Cardinal’s last chance to secure the trophy.

Texas pitcher Mac Morgan (55) high fives fans before Game 2 of the NCAA softball Women's College World Series Championship Series game between the Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Texas Longhorns at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June, 6, 2024. / Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman / USA TODAY

Texas got its best results, however, from rowing and volleyball, the two sports they won national championships in. Strong showings from softball, football, men’s tennis and women’s swim and dive in NCAA postseason play were also huge catalysts in beating out the Cardinal. 

Though Texas and Stanford were far and away the top two programs in the 2023-24 academic year, future SEC opponents Tennessee and Florida will finish in the top five, with Alabama working its way into the top 10. The future of the Director’s Cup will likely be decided by major rivalry games in the SEC.

Texas has now solidified itself as the best athletic program in the nation thanks to the efforts of athletic director Chris Del Conte and the numerous coaches, players, and staff that contribute to the University. With three of the last four trophies, it's hard to expect much will change as Texas aims to become the best program of the 2020’s and beyond.