Lee 44th In NCAA Division II Directors Cup

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Showcasing its success across the board the Lee University Athletic Department finished 44^th in the 2016-17 NCAA Division II Learfield Directors' Cup Standings.

The point system is based off of teams advancing to NCAA Regional and National Championships in each sport.

Lee finished second among the 12 Gulf South Conference schools and placed in the top 50 among 306 active NCAA D2 schools.

The Flames got a big boost in the spring as the women's golf team advanced all the way to the National Championship and finished seventh. Softball followed with a trip to the South Super Regional and ended the year ranked No. 15 while men's golf made it to the South/Southeast Super Regional and were ranked in the top 10 throughout the season.

Men's track and field qualified four athletes for nationals with Justin Brooks (two events), Josiah Brooks and Christian Noble all earning top-eight finishes to claim All-American status. Harold Smith also qualified for the Flames. On the women's side for the second consecutive year Adrian Martin qualified for nationals.

The men's cross country team claimed the school's first ever NCAA Regional Championship in the fall while the women's team finished third. Both squads advanced to nationals where the men placed 18^th while the women finished 28^th.

For the second straight season the women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA National Tournament after finishing second in the GSC. In the winter women's basketball earned the program's first invitational to NCAA postseason play as they finished third in the conference and were an eight seed in the South Region.

"I am so proud of the effort put forth by our coaches and student athletes this year to finish 44^th in the Director's Cup standings," said Lee Athletic Director Larry Carpenter. "Nine of our eighteen teams participated in regional or national competition which shows how balanced our athletic department is. One of our goals when we made the move to NCAA D2 was to be nationally competitive in all our sports and I feel we are off to a good start. There are so many outstanding institutions in D2 and to finish this high in the standings is something we should all be proud of."

Grand Valley State (Mich.) captured its 12^th Directors' Cup crown. West Florida was the highest ranking GSC school at No. 3. The winning institutions will be honored at the 2017 NACDA Convention during the Learfield Directors' Cup Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, June 14.