The final LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings were released on Tuesday, June 11, with the Keiser Seahawks placing third.
The Seahawks have now finished in the top-5 in the Learfield Cup standings for seven consecutive years, registered 865.00 points in the final 2023-24 Learfield Directors' Cup standings. The Seahawks had 18 teams qualify for the postseason during the year, with football, women's golf, and women's swimming claiming NAIA National Championships. Keiser also won the 2024 NAIA Men's Lacrosse Invitational Championship (NAIA Invitational Sports - does not count towards Learfield Cup points).
The University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) topped the standings at 985.50 points. Indiana Wesleyan finished second with 873.38 points while Marian and William Carey rounded out the top-5 with 755.50 and 751.00 points, respectively.
For the first time in program history, the Keiser football team claimed the NAIA Red Banner as National Champions, defeating the No. 1-ranked Northwestern (Iowa) Red Raiders, 31-21. The Seahawks dominated the ground game, rushing for 373 yards, including a career-high 261 yards by
Jaden Meizinger. The Keiser running back had 22 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run on the very first play of the game en route to being named the game's Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Defensively, the Seahawks held the Red Raiders to just 51 yards on the ground, making it the 10
th game this season in which Keiser has held the opposition to under 100 yards rushing.
Maddox Aprile was named the game's Most Outstanding Defensive Player, recording six tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and two sacks (one strip sack).
The No. 1 Seahawks claimed their third-straight NAIA national title on Saturday, March 9, in Columbus, Georgia. Keiser dominated in the Swimming & Diving Championships since day one as they remained in first place each day. The Seahawks claimed three individual national champions, four relay national champions, and a total of 44 All-Americans.
The No. 2-ranked women's golf team claimed its fifth Red Banner on Friday, May 17, winning the 2024 NAIA Women's Golf National Championship. The Seahawks led the final 54 holes to cruise to a 16-stroke lead. Keiser shot at 42-over, 1194 (318-290-296-290), overcoming a slow start on Day One (+30). The Seahawks were followed by No. 3 Oklahoma City (+58) and No. 1 British Columbia (+69). No. 4 SCAD Savannah (+82) and No. 8 Marian (Ind.) (+95) rounded out the top 5. With the win, Keiser has now placed in the top 5 in the NAIA National Championship nine times, including four National Championships (2003, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2024).
Though not included in the NAIA Learfield Cup points system (NAIA Invitational Sports), the No. 2-ranked men's lacrosse team defeated the No. 1 seed and previously undefeated Reinhardt University to claim their second consecutive national title. In one of the best games in NAIA lacrosse history that featured four lead changes, the Seahawks were able to capitalize on a Reinhardt turnover and score the game-winning goal with under a minute left.
Ryan Rundle scored four goals, including the game-winner with 43 seconds remaining in the game.
Lucas Green was named MVP, making a school-record 22 saves, including a critical one with 26 seconds to go to seal the victory.
Final Sport Standings
| Sport |
Finish |
Points |
| Football |
National Champions |
100 |
| Women's Swimming |
National Champions |
100 |
| Women's Golf |
National Champions |
100 |
| Men's Swimming |
2nd |
90 |
| Women's Tennis |
2nd |
90 |
| Men's Tennis |
2nd |
90 |
| Men's Golf |
3rd |
85 |
| Women's Soccer |
Round of 16 |
64 |
| Men's Soccer |
Round of 16 |
64 |
| Baseball |
11th |
57 |
| Men's Basketball |
33rd |
25 |
*Overall, 13 sports are counted in the final NAIA standings, four of which must be men's basketball, men's soccer, women's basketball and women's volleyball. The next highest (9 max.) sports scored for each institution, regardless of gender, are used in the standings. Two total scores were not counted due to the maximum number of sports that are able to be counted – men's indoor track & field and women's lacrosse.
Sun Conference Schools in the Top 100 of the Standings
| School |
Finish |
Points |
| Keiser |
3rd Place |
865.00 |
| St. Thomas |
8th Place |
721.50 |
| SCAD Savannah |
11th Place |
632.50 |
| Southeastern |
13th Place |
598.50 |
| Ave Maria |
94th Place |
201.00 |
Overall Department Success on the Year
- 4 NAIA National Champions
- 18 NAIA National Postseason Appearances
- 8 Individual National Champions and 6 Relay National Champions
- 5 NAIA National Championship Game Appearances
- 1 NAIA PING WGCA National Player of the Year
- 1 NAIA Jack Nicklaus Award
- 1 NAIA Swimmer of the Year
- 1 NAIA Swim of the Year
- 1 ITA Cup Doubles Championship
- 1 ITA Cup Super Bowl Championship
- 1 ITA National Player to Watch
- 1 Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year
- 1 Conference Offensive Player of the Year
- 1 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year
- 1 Conference Defensive Back of the Year
- 1 Conference Linebacker of the Year
- 1 Conference Swimmer of the Year
- 1 Conference Diver of the Year
- 1 USTFCCCA South Region Assistant Coach of the Year
- 2 Conference Doubles Teams of the Year
- 4 NAIA National Coaches of the Year
- 4 Regular Season Championships
- 5 NAIA National Semifinalists
- 5 Champions of Character
- 6 Conference Freshman of the Year
- 6 Conference Coach of the Year Awards
- 6 Conference Player of the Year Honorees
- 7 Conference Tournament Championships
- 7 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American
- 11 teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25 at the end of the fall
- 12 NAIA National Tournament Appearances
- 34 CSC Academic All-District honorees
- 129 NAIA Scholar-Athletes
- 142 NAIA All-Americans
- 151 Academic All-Conference honorees
- 206 All-Conference individual awards
The LEARFIELD Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and
USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NAIA Championships.
Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the winter season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website at
www.directorscup.org. In addition, please visit
www.thedirectorscup.com and follow us on Twitter
@ldirectorscup.
About LEARFIELD: LEARFIELD is a media, data, and technology services leader in intercollegiate athletics. The company unlocks the value of college sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform with innovative content and commerce solutions. LEARFIELD services include licensing and collegiate sports properties' multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and social media; data analytics and insights; ticketing software; and ticket sales, premium seating, and fundraising services
; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for NACDA's acclaimed LEARFIELD Directors' Cup, recognizing athletic departments across all divisions.
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