Gamecock Athletics Finish in Top 25 of Learfield Director's Cup Standings
The University of South Carolina finished 23rd in the final 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings, released today.
The finish is the fifth highest for Carolina in the 31 years of the Learfield Standings and the highest since placing 22nd during the 2018-19 academic year.
“We have tremendous student-athletes, coaches and staff at the University of South Carolina,” said Athletics Director Jeremiah Donati. “From our staff, who are the team behind the teams, to our coaches, who build their programs to the student-athletes, who compete, this is a total team effort. I am so proud of this accomplishment and looking forward to going even higher in the future.”
The finish places the Gamecocks as the highest placed team from the state of South Carolina for the fourth year in a row and 25 of the 31 years of standings.
Fifteen Gamecock sports contributed to the 826.75 points the program reached in the standings. The point total is the second highest in Carolina history, behind 828.5 points in 2001-02, which saw the Gamecocks finish 11th overall, the best finish in school history.
With more than 300 schools receiving points in this year’s rankings, Carolina placed in the top eight percent of all Division I schools in the nation.
During the last eight years of standings, Carolina has had an average finish of 29th.
It has been a banner year for Gamecock Athletics, with 14 teams finishing the season ranked in their respective sports Top 25, including five in the top 10.
In the 50th anniversary of varsity women’s athletics at South Carolina, the Gamecock women’s teams had a banner year with eight of 11 teams finishing in the Top 25 of their respective sports, including five teams finishing in the Top 10 – women’s basketball (2nd), equestrian (3rd), women’s golf (5th), women’s outdoor track & field (7th) and softball (8th). Women’s basketball, women’s golf and equestrian each brought home SEC championships and women’s soccer reached the SEC Tournament championship match.
Carolina’s men’s programs also had a strong year, with football reaching as high as 13th in the nation in the polls, winning the Palmetto Trophy and playing in a post-season bowl game. Men’s Tennis reached 13th and made NCAA Super Regionals, Men’s Golf reached the NCAA Championships and both indoor and outdoor track reached the top 25 in the NCAA Championships.
This year, an additional countable sport was added to the list of sports in the rankings. Overall, 19 total sports are counted for the final standings.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in the NCAA Championships.
