UCLA Athletics takes sixth place in Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup
Men’s Water Polo captured the Bruins’ only national championship in the 2015-2016 academic year, helping UCLA maintain a top-10 ranking at the Learfield Directors’ Cup for a fifth straight year. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Hanson Wang
July 11, 2016 12:10 a.m.
Another year, another top-10 finish for UCLA Athletics.
Led by the men’s water polo national championship team, the Bruins earned sixth place in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which awards points to and ranks college athletic programs across the country.
This marks the fifth consecutive year that UCLA was in the top 10 and overall the 21st time in the award’s 23-year history.
UCLA scored 1091.50 points from nine men’s and nine women’s teams, finishing behind Pac-12 rivals Stanford and USC. The Cardinal won the Directors’ Cup with 1526.50 points, highlighted by national championships in women’s tennis and men’s soccer.
The Bruins were in fifth place with 300.50 points after the fall season but dropped to 15th after winter with 528.50. But behind five top-five finishes in the spring – men’s volleyball, beach volleyball, women’s golf, gymnastics and women’s water polo – UCLA rallied and edged seventh place North Carolina by 2.00 points.
Over the entire year, there were seven Bruin teams that finished in the top five in their respective rankings and three others that finished within the top 10.
