WESTLAKE, Ohio --- Eight of 14 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) athletics programs were ranked in the final 2025-2026 Learfield Directors' Cup standings for NCAA Division III, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced Monday, June 8.

Aurora University was the highest-placed NACC program, ranking 49th overall with 367.5 points. Of that total, 196.5 came during the spring season, buoyed by a third-place national finish in men's golf (85). The Spartans also recorded a 25th-place finish in women's golf (49) and qualified for regional play in baseball (37.5) and women's lacrosse (25). That total was added to the 171 points amassed by Aurora during the winter season.

Concordia University Wisconsin ranked 162nd overall with 109.25 points, just three spots ahead of Illinois Institute of Technology (tie-165th, 100 points). The Falcons earned 84.25 points this spring, recording a 15th-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships (59.25) and also qualifying for the NCAA championship in men's lacrosse (25). The Scarlet Hawks picked up 50 points this spring with NCAA championship appearances in men's and women's tennis (25 each).

Milwaukee School of Engineering (tie-180th, 89 points), Edgewood University (194th, 80 points) and St. Norbert College (tie-198th, 78 points) all finished in the top 200 in NCAA Division III, while Dominican University (tie-213th, 70 points), and Wisconsin Lutheran College (tie-236th, 50 points) were just outside that threshold.

Washington University in St. Louis becomes just the eighth different institution to take home the Learfield Directors’ Cup, capturing first for the 2025-26 year with 1,266.50 overall points. The Bears have finished as high as second on four separate occasions (2017, 2016, 2012 and 2008). WashU scored in 18 total sports (all 4 countable sports), including 13 teams with top 10 finishes. The Bears claimed the title in women’s soccer and added third place finishes in men’s golf and women’s tennis.

Overall, up to 18 total sports may count towards the final Directors’ Cup standings, four of which must be men’s basketball and soccer, and women’s basketball and soccer, leaving the next 14 highest points scored to also be counted.