Texas Longhorns Win Director's Cup, USC Trojans Finish Second

The USC Trojans finished second for the 2024-2025 Director’s Cup for the best overall NCAA Division 1 athletic program. No. 1 was the Texas Longhorns with a score of 1255.25, USC was No. 2 with a score of 1253.75, and the Stanford Cardinal was No. 3 with a score of 1251.

This was the fourth time in the last five years that the Texas Longhorns finished No. 1. Historically speaking, it had been an award dominated by the Stanford Cardinal. Prior to Texas winning it for the first time ever for the 2020-2021 season, Stanford had won it a staggering 25 straight times from 1994 through 2019.

The way the scoring is calculated for this award in Division 1 is the performance and ranking of the top 19 sports at each school. Four of the sports counted must be baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball. Then the next 15 highest sports for that school will be counted toward the score.

USC Trojans Men’s Track Win Indoor and Outdoor Championships

May 18, 2025; Eugene, OR, USA; William Jones (left) and Jacob Andrews of Southern California place first and fifth in the 400m during the Big Ten Championships at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans men’s track and field team was both the indoor NCAA Division 1 champion and the outdoor NCAA Division 1 champion in 2025. For the Trojans, this was their first indoor team championship since 1972 and their first outdoor team championship since 1976.

These were the only two team national championships the USC Trojans won this year, but it was a big reason why they finished above the Stanford Cardinal in the Director’s Cup final standings for the first time ever.

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Can the USC Trojans Football Team Get Back To Winning Ways?

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley holds the championship trophy after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans have one of the most storied college football programs of all time. USC has claimed 11 national titles in 1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, and 2004.

USC also has the most Heisman trophy winners with eight different players. Additionally, the Trojans have had the second most players selected in the history of the NFL Draft with 531. No. 1 all time is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with 538.

It has been quite some time since the USC Trojans football program have been in consistent races for national titles and conference championships. Back in the early 2000's under coach Pete Carroll, USC won seven straight Pac-10 conference championships and was seemingly in the mix for a national title every season from 2001 through 2009.

Since then, it has been a mixed bag. USC has had a couple seasons where they were in the the thick of a conference title race; 2015, 2020, and 2022. Lincoln Riley was hired by USC in 2021 to be the coach to get the Trojans back to their winning ways. Will 2025 be the season where Riley gets USC to take the next step?