Penn State Finishes 16th In Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics concluded the 2024-25 season with a 16^th place finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Division I standings, announced on Thursday.

The 2024-25 year was highlighted by wrestling’s 12^th national title in the past 14 tournaments and women’s volleyball’s eighth national championship. In the Fall, football reached the College Football Playoff semifinals and finished No. 5 in the AP poll. The Winter season included men’s hockey’s first appearance in the Frozen Four. The Spring season was highlighted by men’s lacrosse’s appearance in the NCAA semifinals.

The Nittany Lions tallied 335 points in the Fall, led by women’s volleyball’s 100 points and football’s 75 points. Women’s soccer collected 73 points after advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. Women’s cross country notched 60 points, while men’s cross country picked up 27 points.

Penn State collected 415 points in the Winter championship season, paced by wrestling’s 100 points and men’s hockey’s 83 points. Men’s gymnastics finished fifth at the 2025 NC Men’s Gymnastics Championships to earn 73. Fencing placed seventh at the 2025 National Championships, notching 72 points. Women’s gymnastics hosted an NCAA regional and contributed 45.5 points. Women’s hockey won its third-straight AHA title and earned 25 points. Men’s indoor track & field contributed 16.5 points.

The Blue and White picked up 143 points in the Spring championship season, led by men’s lacrosse’s 83 points. Men’s volleyball earned 60 points by advancing to the national quarterfinals.

Penn State (893 points) placed fifth among Big Ten schools behind USC (1,253.75; 2^nd), UCLA (1,149; 5^th), Ohio State (1,032.25; 8^th) and Michigan (928.5; 13^th). Oregon (879.75; 18^th) and Nebraska (849.75; 21^st) are also ranked among the Top 25. Texas led the country with 1,255.25 points, followed by USC, Stanford (1,251), North Carolina (1,195.25) and UCLA.

Led by Cael Sanderson, Penn State wrestling topped its record-setting performance from 2024, won a fourth-straight NCAA Championship and its 12^th in the last 14 tournaments. Mitchell Mesenbrink and Carter Starocci were crowned National Champions and Starocci became the NCAA’s first ever five-time Division I champion. PSU became the second team in NCAA history to have 10 All-Americans in the same tournament (joining Minnesota in 2001). PSU ran away with the team title, posting a record 177 points.

Led by Katie Schumacher-Cawley, the first female head coach to win a Division I women’s volleyball championship, Penn State women’s volleyball knocked off Louisville, 3-1, in the national championship match. The Nittany Lions closed the season at 35-2, claiming Big Ten and national titles. The run to the national title included wins over Delaware State, North Carolina, Marquette, Creighton and Nebraska. Jess Mruzik was named Most Outstanding Player after tallying 29 kills, 14 digs, five blocks and one ace in the title match.

Penn State football, led by James Franklin, won a program-record 13 games while advancing to the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. The Nittany Lions earned a 38-10 win over 11th-seed SMU in the CFP First Round and followed with a 31-14 victory over 3rd-seed Boise State in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. The Nittany Lions finished No. 5 in the AP poll. Junior defensive end Abdul Carter became Penn State’s 15^th Unanimous Consensus All-American, while senior tight end Tyler Warren was named a first-team All-American by two NCAA-recognized outlets.

Penn State men’s hockey, led by Guy Gadowsky, advanced to the program’s first ever Frozen Four after hosting and advancing out of the Allentown Regional with wins over top-seed Maine (5-1) and UConn (3-2). PSU was ranked No. 5 in the final USCHO.com poll, its highest finish in program history. Sophomore Aiden Fink became Penn State’s first Hobey Baker Top-10 finalist and its third All-American after setting program season records for points (53) and assists (30) and tying the season record for goals (23).

Led by head coach Jeff Tambroni, Penn State men’s lacrosse reached the NCAA semifinals for the third time in program history and the second time in the last three years. The Nittany Lions knocked off No. 15 seed Colgate (13-11) and No. 10 seed Notre Dame (14-12) to reach the semifinals, where they met top-seed Cornell. The win over Notre Dame featured an 8-0 run over the last two quarters to rally from a six-goal deficit. Senior Matt Traynor, freshman Hunter Aquino and junior Alex Ross collected USILA All-America honors.

In the Spring, head coach Mark Pavlik led Penn State men’s volleyball to its 37^th EIVA Tournament title to punch its ticket into the National Collegiate Championships. The Nittany Lions took down Daemen in the opening round to earn a quarterfinals match against No. 2 Hawaii. Redshirt junior Ryan Merk was named an AVCA honorable mention All-American.

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 48 Big Ten championships and 16 NCAA National Championships since 2012. The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 15 of the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup 20 times in the last 31 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.