The Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) athletic program finished in the top 20 in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics’ (NACDA) Directors’ Cup for the 10th consecutive year. The Sea Lions finished 10th out of 300 National Athletic Interscholastic Association (NAIA) schools, accumulating a total of 618.25 points.
The point system is based on each school’s postseason advancement in each intercollegiate sport.
“We have a total of 14 sports, and all but three made it to the nationals. We have been fairly close with making each sport competitive,” said PLNU Athletic Director Carroll Land.
A national title is worth 100 points, a runner-up finish is worth 90 points and each finish below second place is given a designated number of points based on the size of the field. Only the top six men’s and top six women’s teams point totals are tallied in the final results.
“Our highest finish was fourth place (2004-05). It will be hard to finish above that, because they only tally the top six sports for men and women, and our program does not have some of the ‘exotic’ sports that other schools have, such as swimming and diving,” Land said.
Point Loma Nazarene’s GSAC rival Azusa Pacific University (APU) won the Director’s Cup with 947 points. APU has won the cup for four straight years. Simon Fraser finished second and Emory Aeronautical (Florida) placed third. Fresno Pacific, Concordia and Cal Baptist finished fourth and tied for fifth, respectively.
The Directors’ Cup is given by the NACA, United States Sports Academy and USA Today to the best overall collegiate athletic programs in the country from each division (I, II, III and NAIA).