Katie Dixon (14) celebrates with teammates after scoring her first career goal as No. 1 UNC field hockey takes on No. 4 Iowa in the NCAA semifinals at Karen Shelton Stadium on Friday, May 8. (Dakota Moyer/Chapelboro.com)

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics released the current standings for the 2020-21 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup on Thursday, with UNC currently ranked third in the country.

Points for the Directors’ Cup are accumulated based on NCAA postseason success, with each school using 19 different sports for their final point totals — four of which must be men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and women’s volleyball.

UNC’s fall and winter sports totaled 696.50 points — highlighted by the field hockey program’s third consecutive national title. That total is good enough for tops in the ACC and trails only Stanford (770) and Michigan (769.50).

Filling out the rest of the top 10 behind the Tar Heels is a list including: No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 6 BYU, No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 Arkansas and No. 10 Florida.

On top of the field hockey title, UNC was also greatly aided by the men’s and women’s soccer teams each advancing to the NCAA semifinals and a combined sixth place finish by men’s and women’s fencing — the best in school history.

Women’s swimming and diving added a 12th place finish and women’s cross country ended its season in 14th-place, the best by that program since 2010.

The football team reached its first major bowl game since 1950 with an Orange Bowl appearance against Texas A&M and earned Directors’ Cup points based on its No. 17 ranking in the final coaches poll of the season.

Both basketball teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament and the wrestling team checked in at No. 16 for its best finish since 1995 on the back of Austin O’Connor’s NCAA title at 149 pounds.

Spring sports will play a large role in the Tar Heels’ final Directors’ Cup position, as both lacrosse teams and women’s tennis each finished third in their respective sports. Men’s golf also finished fifth and men’s tennis will add points with a ninth-place ranking.

If the Tar Heels hold onto their current third-place standing through the rest of the year, it will represent the school’s best Directors’ Cup finish since taking second back in 2008-09.

UNC won the inaugural Directors’ Cup in 1993-94 and has finished in the top 10 a total of 21 times in the 26-year history of the award — including four second-place finishes.

The final standings for 2021 will be released on July 2.

 

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