[Papa John]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but I was wondering if there is any update on whether or not the Directors' Cup will be awarded for 2020-21? For obvious reasons, last year's Cup was not awarded, but my impression is that all championships will be awarded this academic year.

I couldn't find any useful updates on the DC website, but I thought that folks on this board who have connections might be aware of scuttlebutt from other sources.

And then there's the question of whether or not we "want" the DC to be awarded this year, given the atypical performances of certain Stanford teams...

[Papa John]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but I was wondering if there is any update on whether or not the Directors' Cup will be awarded for 2020-21? For obvious reasons, last year's Cup was not awarded, but my impression is that all championships will be awarded this academic year.

I couldn't find any useful updates on the DC website, but I thought that folks on this board who have connections might be aware of scuttlebutt from other sources.

And then there's the question of whether or not we "want" the DC to be awarded this year, given the atypical performances of certain Stanford teams...

[Softball Fan]

I looked around a week ago and found nothing.  There seems to be a cone of silence around the Director's Cup right now which might indicate they either cancelled it or haven't decided yet.

If it is awarded, I don't see any way Stanford wins it.

[Softball Fan]

I looked around a week ago and found nothing.  There seems to be a cone of silence around the Director's Cup right now which might indicate they either cancelled it or haven't decided yet.

If it is awarded, I don't see any way Stanford wins it.

[yvonne]

Since nothing appears on top of this, I conclude that it's the latest.
https://thedirectorscup.com/2020/11/2020...up-update/

[yvonne]

Since nothing appears on top of this, I conclude that it's the latest.
https://thedirectorscup.com/2020/11/2020...up-update/

[M T]

If it is awarded, I don't see any way Stanford wins it.

Your pessimism may be getting in your way of thinking.  No you have numbers to support that?

Stanford is having an off year, but still has a lot of good teams.
In the books:  MWP (T3), WXC (3), MXC(5), WSwim (9), MSwim (14), Fencing (11), Wrestling (17)

Top 4 ranking in WBB (ranked 1), WWP (ranked 3), MGYM (ranked 3).

Good finishes possible in baseball (14-4, not ranked), women's tennis (10-0), softball (22-4, not ranked), women's golf (ranked 8), BVB (11-3, ranked 12), field hockey (4-0, ranked 9), WLAX (5-0, ranked 13).

I don't know the scoring details, but if Stanford can win 2 NCs, I'd think we'd have to be in good shape.

[M T]

If it is awarded, I don't see any way Stanford wins it.

Your pessimism may be getting in your way of thinking.  No you have numbers to support that?

Stanford is having an off year, but still has a lot of good teams.
In the books:  MWP (T3), WXC (3), MXC(5), WSwim (9), MSwim (14), Fencing (11), Wrestling (17)

Top 4 ranking in WBB (ranked 1), WWP (ranked 3), MGYM (ranked 3).

Good finishes possible in baseball (14-4, not ranked), women's tennis (10-0), softball (22-4, not ranked), women's golf (ranked 8), BVB (11-3, ranked 12), field hockey (4-0, ranked 9), WLAX (5-0, ranked 13).

I don't know the scoring details, but if Stanford can win 2 NCs, I'd think we'd have to be in good shape.

[Papa John]

Thanks, Yvonne. Interesting wording in the press release. It says that championships must be played across each of the competition levels: NCAA, NAIA, and Junior/Community College. As far as I know, the NCAA is going forward with all championships. But I have no idea about NAIA or JCs.

[Papa John]

Thanks, Yvonne. Interesting wording in the press release. It says that championships must be played across each of the competition levels: NCAA, NAIA, and Junior/Community College. As far as I know, the NCAA is going forward with all championships. But I have no idea about NAIA or JCs.

[Blue Hawk (Mizzou) Card]

Thanks, Yvonne. Interesting wording in the press release. It says that championships must be played across each of the competition levels: NCAA, NAIA, and Junior/Community College. As far as I know, the NCAA is going forward with all championships. But I have no idea about NAIA or JCs.

Reporting in from the NAIA, several national championships have been completed and others, including some in fall sports, will be completed soon, with spring sports championships expected to be on schedule. However, if ALL regular championships have to be completed, the NAIA would not be able to check the box, as the swimming nationals were cancelled.

BTW, I am sure that you are as outraged as the writer of this post at the NAIA football ranking of our beloved Dickinson State Blue Hawks, who have the best record in the NAIA but are nonetheless ranked twelfth and will, thus, probably not host a playoff game. The ranking of NW Iowa, who (if memory serves correctly) has lost two of its last three home playoff games and has lost two of its last three games against Dickinson State, including one of those home playoff games, is particularly galling. They will probably end up with a home playoff game despite these realities. Don't get me started . . . .

[As our younger son used to say when he was little: "Dad, when you say 'don't get me started,' it seems like you are already started." Smart kid, that one.]

[Blue Hawk (Mizzou) Card]

Thanks, Yvonne. Interesting wording in the press release. It says that championships must be played across each of the competition levels: NCAA, NAIA, and Junior/Community College. As far as I know, the NCAA is going forward with all championships. But I have no idea about NAIA or JCs.

Reporting in from the NAIA, several national championships have been completed and others, including some in fall sports, will be completed soon, with spring sports championships expected to be on schedule. However, if ALL regular championships have to be completed, the NAIA would not be able to check the box, as the swimming nationals were cancelled.

BTW, I am sure that you are as outraged as the writer of this post at the NAIA football ranking of our beloved Dickinson State Blue Hawks, who have the best record in the NAIA but are nonetheless ranked twelfth and will, thus, probably not host a playoff game. The ranking of NW Iowa, who (if memory serves correctly) has lost two of its last three home playoff games and has lost two of its last three games against Dickinson State, including one of those home playoff games, is particularly galling. They will probably end up with a home playoff game despite these realities. Don't get me started . . . .

[As our younger son used to say when he was little: "Dad, when you say 'don't get me started,' it seems like you are already started." Smart kid, that one.]

[Farm93]

Seems like the NACDA Directors' Cup really is a way to present something to attendees at the annual Directors' meeting, so I can't help but think that the cups (D1, D2, D3 and NAIA) will be awarded if the banquet is held for the administrative types in June.   

Another approach would be to see if Stanford is destined to win the D1 cup, if yes, it's cancelled.
If Stanford is set to fall short, I suspect they will do something to honor the newest D1 winner.


It is hard to keep track of all of the NACDA top 5 programs in this compressed calendar, but outside of WVB and skipping indoor track Stanford is more or less on schedule.   I worry a bit about UCLA given the strong showing in a few key sports. 

FWIW - FBS Football creates a quirky problem.   A number of bowl eligible teams opted out of bowl games while a number of teams that traditionally would not be bowl eligible got to play in games. 
Would a 2-8 team from the SEC get 25 points, while USC, UW, Stanford and others with winning records get 0?

[Farm93]

Seems like the NACDA Directors' Cup really is a way to present something to attendees at the annual Directors' meeting, so I can't help but think that the cups (D1, D2, D3 and NAIA) will be awarded if the banquet is held for the administrative types in June.   

Another approach would be to see if Stanford is destined to win the D1 cup, if yes, it's cancelled.
If Stanford is set to fall short, I suspect they will do something to honor the newest D1 winner.


It is hard to keep track of all of the NACDA top 5 programs in this compressed calendar, but outside of WVB and skipping indoor track Stanford is more or less on schedule.   I worry a bit about UCLA given the strong showing in a few key sports. 

FWIW - FBS Football creates a quirky problem.   A number of bowl eligible teams opted out of bowl games while a number of teams that traditionally would not be bowl eligible got to play in games. 
Would a 2-8 team from the SEC get 25 points, while USC, UW, Stanford and others with winning records get 0?

[BostonCard]

BTW, I am sure that you are as outraged as the writer of this post at the NAIA football ranking of our beloved Dickinson State Blue Hawks, who have the best record in the NAIA but are nonetheless ranked twelfth and will, thus, probably not host a playoff game. The ranking of NW Iowa, who (if memory serves correctly) has lost two of its last three home playoff games and has lost two of its last three games against Dickinson State, including one of those home playoff games, is particularly galling. They will probably end up with a home playoff game despite these realities. Don't get me started . . . .

[As our younger son used to say when he was little: "Dad, when you say 'don't get me started,' it seems like you are already started." Smart kid, that one.]

Wait, weren't you at Wyoming, or was that mini?

BC

[BostonCard]

BTW, I am sure that you are as outraged as the writer of this post at the NAIA football ranking of our beloved Dickinson State Blue Hawks, who have the best record in the NAIA but are nonetheless ranked twelfth and will, thus, probably not host a playoff game. The ranking of NW Iowa, who (if memory serves correctly) has lost two of its last three home playoff games and has lost two of its last three games against Dickinson State, including one of those home playoff games, is particularly galling. They will probably end up with a home playoff game despite these realities. Don't get me started . . . .

[As our younger son used to say when he was little: "Dad, when you say 'don't get me started,' it seems like you are already started." Smart kid, that one.]

Wait, weren't you at Wyoming, or was that mini?

BC

[Blue Hawk (Mizzou) Card]

BTW, I am sure that you are as outraged as the writer of this post at the NAIA football ranking of our beloved Dickinson State Blue Hawks, who have the best record in the NAIA but are nonetheless ranked twelfth and will, thus, probably not host a playoff game. The ranking of NW Iowa, who (if memory serves correctly) has lost two of its last three home playoff games and has lost two of its last three games against Dickinson State, including one of those home playoff games, is particularly galling. They will probably end up with a home playoff game despite these realities. Don't get me started . . . .

[As our younger son used to say when he was little: "Dad, when you say 'don't get me started,' it seems like you are already started." Smart kid, that one.]

Wait, weren't you at Wyoming, or was that mini?

BC

BC: We were in Wyoming for eleven years--ten and half of which were great. Mega (Mini's older brother) played football there and is still there, in graduate school.

Now I am back in my home state of North Dakota, at Dickinson State, trying to help out at Dickinson State, my undergrad alma mater (which is also Mini's alma mater, and my dad's and both grandmother's, so it's our family school).

Not that you asked, but Mini went got his MBA from UMass, which has the nation's leading sports management program, so we are now big college hockey fans. Our family has two Final Fours we care about deeply (one of the frozen variety). We went to the Frozen Four in Buffalo a couple of years ago. For a while, I thought Mini was going to provide the family with its first "we were there" national title, but our family pattern held as UMass lost in the final game.

Mini is now pursuing his PhD. To protect his reputation as one of the greatest Stanford subway fans ever, I won't tell you where. But I can assure the Cardinal fan base that he is still all in for the Cardinal, even if that means rooting against his current school.

Mini might be Tara's biggest fan. He has convinced me of her elite status. I was thinking about this recently: I believe Tara is my favorite national level coach of my sports fandom. I tend to concentrate more on players than on coaches, but when I think about coaches, Tara is at the top of my list.

[Blue Hawk (Mizzou) Card]

BTW, I am sure that you are as outraged as the writer of this post at the NAIA football ranking of our beloved Dickinson State Blue Hawks, who have the best record in the NAIA but are nonetheless ranked twelfth and will, thus, probably not host a playoff game. The ranking of NW Iowa, who (if memory serves correctly) has lost two of its last three home playoff games and has lost two of its last three games against Dickinson State, including one of those home playoff games, is particularly galling. They will probably end up with a home playoff game despite these realities. Don't get me started . . . .

[As our younger son used to say when he was little: "Dad, when you say 'don't get me started,' it seems like you are already started." Smart kid, that one.]

Wait, weren't you at Wyoming, or was that mini?

BC

BC: We were in Wyoming for eleven years--ten and half of which were great. Mega (Mini's older brother) played football there and is still there, in graduate school.

Now I am back in my home state of North Dakota, at Dickinson State, trying to help out at Dickinson State, my undergrad alma mater (which is also Mini's alma mater, and my dad's and both grandmother's, so it's our family school).

Not that you asked, but Mini went got his MBA from UMass, which has the nation's leading sports management program, so we are now big college hockey fans. Our family has two Final Fours we care about deeply (one of the frozen variety). We went to the Frozen Four in Buffalo a couple of years ago. For a while, I thought Mini was going to provide the family with its first "we were there" national title, but our family pattern held as UMass lost in the final game.

Mini is now pursuing his PhD. To protect his reputation as one of the greatest Stanford subway fans ever, I won't tell you where. But I can assure the Cardinal fan base that he is still all in for the Cardinal, even if that means rooting against his current school.

Mini might be Tara's biggest fan. He has convinced me of her elite status. I was thinking about this recently: I believe Tara is my favorite national level coach of my sports fandom. I tend to concentrate more on players than on coaches, but when I think about coaches, Tara is at the top of my list.

[Canalejas]

With WVB missing the NCAA tournament for the first time ever, Stanford will get zero points in two of the four mandatory counter sports.

What are the chances that baseball makes the NCAA tournament field this year?

At most we will have 17 scoring sports this year. Assuming the Cup is awarded this year at all, that is.

[Canalejas]

With WVB missing the NCAA tournament for the first time ever, Stanford will get zero points in two of the four mandatory counter sports.

What are the chances that baseball makes the NCAA tournament field this year?

At most we will have 17 scoring sports this year. Assuming the Cup is awarded this year at all, that is.

[Phogge]

Ted Leland is leading a movement to insure that there is a Cup this year.

[Phogge]

Ted Leland is leading a movement to insure that there is a Cup this year.

[Papa John]

I'm thinking the Directors' Cup won't be awarded this year. As was already mentioned, the NAIA canceled swimming and diving and NJCAA canceled basketball and volleyball.

Covid has unevenly affected teams and divisions, and I can understand why the NACDA would hold off on resuming the DC competition until all teams and divisions are on a more equal footing. Even if all NCAA D-1 championships are played this year that still doesn't mean that all teams/conferences in a given sport were on equal footing. 

Case in point: Pac-12 football. USC was the only team to finish in the AP top-25 at #21. That's historically bad, maybe the worst performance ever by the conference, and it was due to Covid and, for the most part, a situation that was outside the control of the players and coaches.

[Papa John]

I'm thinking the Directors' Cup won't be awarded this year. As was already mentioned, the NAIA canceled swimming and diving and NJCAA canceled basketball and volleyball.

Covid has unevenly affected teams and divisions, and I can understand why the NACDA would hold off on resuming the DC competition until all teams and divisions are on a more equal footing. Even if all NCAA D-1 championships are played this year that still doesn't mean that all teams/conferences in a given sport were on equal footing. 

Case in point: Pac-12 football. USC was the only team to finish in the AP top-25 at #21. That's historically bad, maybe the worst performance ever by the conference, and it was due to Covid and, for the most part, a situation that was outside the control of the players and coaches.

[BostonCard]

With WVB missing the NCAA tournament for the first time ever, Stanford will get zero points in two of the four mandatory counter sports.

But we get 100 points in women's basketball!

BC

[BostonCard]

With WVB missing the NCAA tournament for the first time ever, Stanford will get zero points in two of the four mandatory counter sports.

But we get 100 points in women's basketball!

BC

[martyup]

What school(s) stands a chance of accumulating more DC points than Stanford this year?

---

If they don't award the DC this year than Stanford is the winner because we are the champions until someone beats us.

[martyup]

What school(s) stands a chance of accumulating more DC points than Stanford this year?

---

If they don't award the DC this year than Stanford is the winner because we are the champions until someone beats us.

[Canalejas]

Well, UCLA won in men's water polo, reached the final four in men's basketball, made both the women's basketball and volleyball brackets, and currently lead our league in softball.  So maybe they have a chance?

[Canalejas]

Well, UCLA won in men's water polo, reached the final four in men's basketball, made both the women's basketball and volleyball brackets, and currently lead our league in softball.  So maybe they have a chance?

[M T]

UCLA is ranked #3 in WWP (Stanford #2) currently.   My impression is that any of the top 3 (add USC) may be the NC winner.

UCLA is ranked #2 in SB. (Stanford #64);  #21 in Baseball (Stanford unranked).

UCLA is ranked #13 in WGYM and will be participating in the nationals in about a week.
(To counteract WGYM, Stanford is ranked #3  in MGYM)

[M T]

UCLA is ranked #3 in WWP (Stanford #2) currently.   My impression is that any of the top 3 (add USC) may be the NC winner.

UCLA is ranked #2 in SB. (Stanford #64);  #21 in Baseball (Stanford unranked).

UCLA is ranked #13 in WGYM and will be participating in the nationals in about a week.
(To counteract WGYM, Stanford is ranked #3  in MGYM)

[Spiny_Norman]

UCLA is ranked #13 in WGYM and will be participating in the nationals in about a week.
(To counteract WGYM, Stanford is ranked #3  in MGYM)

UCLA WGYM did not qualify for nationals.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/04/03/uc...ship-trip/

[Spiny_Norman]

UCLA is ranked #13 in WGYM and will be participating in the nationals in about a week.
(To counteract WGYM, Stanford is ranked #3  in MGYM)

UCLA WGYM did not qualify for nationals.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/04/03/uc...ship-trip/

[Farm93]

UCLA is ranked #13 in WGYM and will be participating in the nationals in about a week.
(To counteract WGYM, Stanford is ranked #3  in MGYM)

UCLA WGYM did not qualify for nationals.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/04/03/uc...ship-trip/

Wow!  That is almost as unbelievable as Stanford not qualifying for a 48 team women's volleyball championship.
FWIW - Stanford baseball likely will get into the baseball tournament, Stanford softball will likely get into the softball tournament.

The biggest threats for any Directors' Cup are likely to be the same collection of schools that have been in the Top 5 over time.
UCLA, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, USC and maybe Virginia.

[Farm93]

UCLA is ranked #13 in WGYM and will be participating in the nationals in about a week.
(To counteract WGYM, Stanford is ranked #3  in MGYM)

UCLA WGYM did not qualify for nationals.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/04/03/uc...ship-trip/

Wow!  That is almost as unbelievable as Stanford not qualifying for a 48 team women's volleyball championship.
FWIW - Stanford baseball likely will get into the baseball tournament, Stanford softball will likely get into the softball tournament.

The biggest threats for any Directors' Cup are likely to be the same collection of schools that have been in the Top 5 over time.
UCLA, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, USC and maybe Virginia.

[ca245]

Also UCLA is leading the PAC-12 in WSoc and with our two losses last weekend, we may not make the tournament.

[ca245]

Also UCLA is leading the PAC-12 in WSoc and with our two losses last weekend, we may not make the tournament.

[M T]

In 2019-2020, Stanford won 3 of the 8 NCAA Championships plus T3 in M Soccer, 3 in W Cross Country, 6 in M Cross Country.

I think it is a little late for there to be a DC in 2020-2021, but if they were to award a DC, it would make sense for it to combine the two years and cover all the championships in 2019-2021.   In such a case, it seems like Stanford would again run away with it.

[M T]

In 2019-2020, Stanford won 3 of the 8 NCAA Championships plus T3 in M Soccer, 3 in W Cross Country, 6 in M Cross Country.

I think it is a little late for there to be a DC in 2020-2021, but if they were to award a DC, it would make sense for it to combine the two years and cover all the championships in 2019-2021.   In such a case, it seems like Stanford would again run away with it.