UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics finished the 2023-24 year with 827.75 points in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup Division I standings, ranking 23rd in the country.
Penn State tallied 150 points in the Spring. The teams qualifying for points during the Spring championship season were men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, softball, men's outdoor track & field, women's outdoor track & field and men's volleyball.
The Nittany Lions notched 406.75 during the Winter championship season, led by wrestling's 100 points after claiming its 11th national title in the last 13 years. The points include 75 by fencing, 66.8 by women's gymnastics, 52.5 by men's indoor track & field, 42 by women's indoor track & field, 38 by men's swimming and 32.5 by men's gymnastics. Women's hockey also qualified for points.
Penn State's 271 points in the Fall were led by women's soccer's 73 points after reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals. women's volleyball contributed 64 points, advancing to its NCAA Regional Semifinal. Football collected 63 points, making its first ever appearance in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The women's cross country team tallied 43 points, while the men's cross country team secured 28 points.
Men's volleyball, coached by Mark Pavlik, finished the 2024 season with a 23-7 record. The Nittany Lions won the EIVA Title to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. PSU took on UC Irvine in the quarterfinal round. Grad student John Kerr was a first-team AVCA All-American, while Toby Ezeonu and Ryan Merk were tabbed second-team.
Led by head coach Clarisa Crowell, softball finished the 2024 campaign with a 35-20 overall record and earned its first national postseason appearance in 13 years. Playing in the NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional, Penn State notched a 9-3 win over UAlbany. After an outstanding year in the circle, Bridget Nemeth was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned Freshman All-America accolades from D1Softball and Softball America.
Track & Field is led by head coach John Gondak. Men's Outdoor Track & Field season was highlighted by Chieckna Traore's 200-meter NCAA title, posting a time of 19.95. Traore became Penn State's first outdoor individual champion since 2018 and was PSU's first sprint event champion since 1941. Women's Outdoor Track & Field season concluded with sophomore Hayley Kitching's fifth-place finish in the 800-meter final. She earned first-team All-America honors.
Led by head coach Jeff Tambroni, men's lacrosse went 11-5 overall and played Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament First Round after reaching the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. TJ Malone, Jack Fracyon and Grant Haus were named USILA All-American second-team selections.
Women's Lacrosse, led by head coach Missy Doherty, tallied an 11-8 record, including 4-2 in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions took on James Madison in the NCAA Tournament First Round after advancing to the Big Ten Tournament Final. Senior Kristin O'Neill (second team) and junior Ellie Hollin (third team) were tabbed IWLCA DI All-Americans.
Texas concluded the 2023-24 year ranked first in the overall standings with 1,377 points. They were followed in the Top Five by Stanford (1,312.75), Tennessee (1,217), Florida (1,189) and Virginia (1,066.25).
Penn State finished fourth among Big Ten schools, behind Ohio State (1,006; 11th overall), Michigan (985;15th) and Nebraska (841; 23rd). PSU was one of 10 Big Ten schools represented in the Top 50.
Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft, Penn State has one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men's, 15 women's). The Nittany Lions' 31 programs are tied for the fourth-highest number of sports sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution.
Penn State student-athletes have led the athletic department to 41 Big Ten championships and 12 NCAA National Championships since 2012. The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 15 of the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup 20 times in the last 30 years (the Directors' Cup was not awarded in 2019-20).
Complete standings and the scoring structure of the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org.
