CLEVELAND – A portrait of department-wide success in 2025-26, Salisbury University earned its highest finish on the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup rolls in over a decade, placing
22nd in the NCAA Division III standings as revealed by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) on Tuesday.
The Sea Gulls accumulated 641 points across the fall, winter, and spring athletics seasons based on teams' finishes at their respective NCAA Championships. With a No. 22 finish out of 317 qualifying programs, SU boasts its
best Directors' Cup finish since placing 13th in 2015 and cracks the top 25 for the first time since taking 24th in 2016.
Salisbury got off to a
fine start through the fall, racking up 184 points from field hockey (70), football (64), and volleyball (50) to sit at No. 27 out of 178 schools come December. In the winter, the Sea Gulls saw contributions from three programs for a total of 161.5 points; men's indoor track & field captured 63 points with a 12th-place national team finish, while women's swimming (52) and men's swimming (46.5) placed 22nd and 26th, respectively, at their national meets.
The Sea Gulls made serious hay in the spring with 295.5 points. Women's lacrosse boasted the highest contribution with 83 points via its NCAA semifinals berth. Baseball (73) advanced to the Division III World Series; men's outdoor track & field (70.5) brought home eighth place at the national meet, men's lacrosse (64) made it to the third round of its tournament, and women's outdoor track & field (5) chipped in with a 67th-place marker.
SU's top-25 finish helped the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) collectively break through and
register the third-best scoring average (449) in the Division III conference standings. Christopher Newport edged out the Sea Gulls by placing 21st (661.5), while Mary Washington (262) and UC Santa Cruz (231) slotted 77th and 87th, respectively. The rest of the top 10 all drew their averages from at least eight schools, double the C2C's four contributors.
The LEARFIELD Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and
USA Today. Salisbury is a perennial top-of-the-line performer in Division III with 23 top-10 finishes in 29 seasons with a final ranking since the 1995-96 athletics slate.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 26 individual national championships, and 211 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
