For the first time in school history, Tennessee Athletics achieved its third consecutive top-10 finish in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup, as announced by the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) on Thursday.
Tennessee ranked sixth in the nation, marking its second-best finish since the Directors' Cup was established in 1993.
The top three finishes for Tennessee in the Directors' Cup have occurred in the last three years.
It has continued at a torrid pace since the arrival of Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White in January 2021.
The Big Orange has steadily ascended in the Directors' Cup standings over the last five years since the competition was canceled in 2019-20. Tennessee finished 26th in 2020-21, 13th in 2021-22, sixth in 2022-23 and last year's high-water mark of No. 3.
Before UT's three consecutive top-10 rankings over the previous three years, Tennessee last achieved a top-10 Directors' Cup finish in 2006-07, when it reached a previous-best No. 7.
"We are thrilled to have achieved success across all 20 of our sports, culminating in this sixth-place finish in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup," said Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Danny White. "This result not only ties for our second-best finish in school history but also marks the first time we have achieved a Top 10 ranking for three consecutive years. Congratulations to our exceptional student-athletes, coaches and staff for giving their all for Tennessee!"
All 20 sports at Tennessee reached the postseason (NCAAs and a bowl game) for just the second time in school history – with both achievements coming in each of the last two years.
Tennessee is the only Power Five school to have every sport reach the postseason in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
With 1,078 total points this year, Tennessee finished behind Texas (1,255.25), Southern California (1,253.75), Stanford (1,251), North Carolina (1,195.25), and UCLA (1,149).
Five sports finished in the top five nationally, led by softball's national semifinal finish. Overall, 12 UT programs placed in the final top 15 for the 2024-25 academic year.
Tennessee's four consecutive top-15 finishes align with one of the strategies outlined in the department's
Rise Glorious Strategic Plan, published in July 2022. Under its Competitive Excellence priority, the plan aspires for UT to "finish in the top 15 [in the Directors' Cup] in three out of every five years."