The Chico State Athletics Department finished 26th out of 310 NCAA Division II schools in the final 2010-11 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings. The Wildcats just missed their eighth straight top-25 finish, scoring 404 points behind NCAA Championship runs by seven of their 13 programs: men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s soccer, softball, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, and men’s golf.

Each cross country program finished fifth in the nation. The men’s soccer program advanced to the national quarterfinals. The men’s track & field team finished 21st in the nation and the women’s team 37th. The softball team advanced to the NCAA Super Regional for the second season in a row. The men’s golf team finished seventh in the NCAA West/Central Super Regional.

Programs compile Directors’ Cup points in up to 14 sports (seven male and seven female). What makes Chico State’s stretch of high finishes remarkable is that the competition recognizes a school’s best finishes out of 32 sports. But Chico State only features 13. Every school that finished ahead of the Wildcats scored points in at least one sport not offered at Chico State.

Grand Valley State (Mich.) captured its eighth straight Division II championship with 1057.5 points. UC San Diego, which finished fifth, was the only other California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) team in the Top 50. But the Chico State nipped UC San Diego for the 2010-11 CCAA Commissioner’s Cup, awarded to the top athletic program in the CCAA based on conference standings and CCAA Championship Tournament results.

Final 2010-11 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings