Minnesota State Completes 2017-18 With 11th-Place Finish in  Learfield  Directors' Cup Standings; 12 Teams Score Points in NCAA Postseason Competition
Mavericks Post Sixth Consecutive Top-15 Finish

    Orlando, Fla. --- Minnesota State had 12 teams score points in NCAA postseason competition and completed the 2017-18 season ranking 11th in the final Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings.

This year marks the sixth straight year that the Mavericks have finished in the top 15 in the standings which recognize the top athletic programs in the country.

Minnesota State totalled 588 points in the 2017-18 Director's Cup standings in finishing eighth, which puts the Mavericks in the top .036% of the 305 schools that compete in NCAA Division II.

This year marks the 17th straight year that the Mavericks have finished in the top 25 in the country in the national standings.

Minnesota State has finished in the top 25 a total of 18 times in the 23 years since the Directors' Cup program was inaugurated - 2nd in 2008-09, 3rd in 2007-08, 4th in 2006-07, 2009-10 and 2012-13, 5th in 2014-15 and 2015-16, 8th in 2005-06 and 2016-17, 10th in 2004-05, 11th in 2017-18, 13th in 2010-11, 15th in 2013-14, 16th in 1995-96, 20th in 2003-04, 21st in 2011-12, 22nd in 2002-03 and 23rd in 2001-02.  

The Mavericks ranked first amongst Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference performers in the standings this year.  Besides Minnesota State's 11th-place ranking, other NSIC schools and their finishes included Augustana (16th), Minnesota Duluth (33rd), St. Cloud State (63rd), Sioux Falls (106th), Concordia-St. Paul (121st), MSU-Moorhead (129th), Southwest Minnesota State (150th), Wayne State (164th), Upper Iowa (201st), Winona State (226th), Minot State (239th) and Bemidji State (251st).

Posting top-25 team finishes for Minnesota State in 2017-18 NCAA postseason events were football (tied for fifth), men's basketball (tied for ninth), men's hockey (tied for ninth), wrestling (tenth), women's soccer (tied for 17th),  softball (tied for 17th), men's indoor track & field (20th),women's outdoor track & field (16th), men's outdoor track & field (22nd).

Other teams and their national finish included women's swimming & diving (28th), women's indoor track & field (tied for 36th) and men's golf (73rd).

The final results for this year's Learfield Directors' Cup are available HERE.

Learfield Sports Directors' Cup General Information
A program that honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program, the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup honors those programs achieving success in many sports, both men's and women's.  Began in 1993-94 for Division I by NACDA and USA Today, it was expanded in 1995-96 to include Division II, III and the NAIA.  Each institution is awarded points in a predetermined number of sports for men and women. The overall champion is the institution that records the highest number of points in their division's Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings.