Penn State earns top-20 finish in 2024-25 Directors' Cup standings
On Thursday, Learfield announced the final tally, which is based on a formula that awards points for success in different sports. Penn State finished the season with the No. 16 overall ranking, which comes after being ranked No. 3 after the fall rankings were released.
Mediocre performances from the baseball, softball, men's volleyball and women's lacrosse teams hurt the Nittany Lions, but they still finished higher than their No. 24 ranking a year prior.
Penn State finished with 893 total points, with 213.5 from fall sports, 335 from winter sports and just 143 in the spring window. Men's wrestling and women's volleyball each contributed 100 points while earning national championships, while football, women's soccer, fencing and men's lacrosse all eclipsed 70 points. Both basketball teams, as well as the baseball and softball teams, finished with no points.
The Nittany Lions placed fifth among Big Ten schools, trailing No. 2 USC, No. 5 UCLA, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 13 Michigan. The conference as a whole was successful, with every school ranking in the top 90 spots out of over 300 total Division I institutions. Additionally, every Big Ten school besides Iowa and Rutgers ranked in the top 50.
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