University of Tennessee Athletics
Record-Setting Fall Places Tennessee Fifth in LEARFIELD Directors' Cup Standings
January 11, 2024 | General
Highest-scoring fall season in school history with 292.5 points
For the first time in school history, Tennessee Athletics is in the top five of the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup after the fall standings were released Thursday. Tennessee sits in fifth place nationally with 292.5 points, the most points scored in school history for a fall season.
"One of our major priorities in Rise Glorious is competitive excellence, and this record finish for the fall further demonstrates we are climbing on an upward trajectory," Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. "We are building a championship culture in all 20 of our sports and securing the highest fall season point total ever is a testament to our talented student-athletes, coaches and staff. Let's keep winning on Rocky Top!"
All five of Tennessee's fall sports contributed points, led by women's cross country. The Lady Vols scored 73.5 points by way of a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Tennessee raced at the national meet for the first time since 2006. Their placement is the program's best since finishing sixth in 1989 and tied for the second-best finish in Lady Vol cross country history.
Volleyball secured 64 points after the Lady Vols fell in a heartbreaking five-set battle to eventual National Champion Texas in the Sweet Sixteen.
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The Big Orange (26-5) enjoyed one of the best campaigns in program history, advancing to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2005, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and earning the program's best-ever national seed at No. 10. The Lady Vols finished second in the SEC, which produced a conference-high eight NCAA Tournament teams this year, with a 15-3 record. They defeated five ranked opponents throughout the season.
Tennessee football contributed 57 points by finishing No. 17 in the AFCA Coaches poll. The Vols (9-4) capped the season with a 35-0 Citrus Bowl blanking of Iowa, who finished No. 24 and No. 22 in the final AP and Coaches polls.
Soccer secured 50 points in the fall season after the Lady Vols advanced to the NCAA Round of 32 for the 10th time in program history. Tennessee lost a hard-fought 2-1 result to Nebraska as the Huskers scored the game-winning goal with just under a minute remaining.
Men's cross country rounded out the scoring with 48 points after a 26th-place finish nationally. It was the men's second straight appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, making back-to-back trips to the national race for the first time since 2001-02.Â
Tennessee only trails North Carolina, Stanford, Texas and Notre Dame in the fall standings and is the top-scoring SEC school. Arkansas is the lone other SEC school in the Top 10 at No. 8.
For a snapshot of where each Tennessee team stands in the national rankings and a breakdown of Directors' Cup scoring, click here.Â
Last year, Tennessee's sixth-place finish in the Directors' Cup was its best finish in school history. Tennessee also was the second-best finisher among SEC schools a season ago.
The Big Orange are 89 points ahead of last year's post-fall total. This season's phenomenal fall crushed UT's previous best fall scoring output of 205.0 points in the fall of 2004.
As Tennessee seeks to build on its championship tradition across all sports, the ongoing My All Campaign is fueling the pursuit of enhanced championship resources to support student-athletes' academic and competitive pursuits.
