Florida men's track & field (above) celebrates its third consecutive outdoor NCAA team title. That finished topped 11 Florida teams placing among the nation's top five which propelled Gator Athletics to No. 4 in the 2023-24 LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup final standings. Photo By: Isaac Wasserman
The Gator Nation®

Gators Score Top 4 Sports Ranking

UF Athletes among best in NCAA Director's Cup

By Mary Howard UF Athletics Photos by Isaac Wasserman UF Athletics Published July 3, 2024

Florida’s third consecutive NCAA men’s outdoor track & field title led 11 top-five team finishes as the Gators athletics program placed fourth in the 2023-24 LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings.

Florida is the only program to finish among the nation’s top 10 in each of the last 40 national all-sports standings.

Florida’s Top-5 Finishes:

The third consecutive NCAA title by the men’s outdoor track & field led the Gators’ 11 top-five team finishes in 2023-24. The 11 top-five team finishes includes a national high nine among the top three.

This is the 15th consecutive complete season with a Gators team winning a national team title. Florida is one of two programs with a national title each complete season since the 2008-09 campaign. UF has 27 championships in that span.

In 2023-24, 11 Gators teams placed among the nation’s final top five – including nine among the top three. This is the 22nd consecutive complete season 10 or more Gators teams were among the nation’s top 10.

  • No. 1 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
  • No. 2 Women’s Indoor Track & Field
  • No. 2 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
  • No. 3 Men’s Swimming & Diving
  • No. 3 Women’s Swimming & Diving
  • No. 3 Men’s Indoor Track & Field
  • No. T3 Baseball
  • No. T-3 Lacrosse
  • No. T-3 Softball
  • No. 4 Gymnastics
  • No. 5 Women’s Cross Country
2023-24 LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup Standings
Rank School Points
1. Texas 1377.00
2. Stanford 1317.75
3. Tennessee 1217.00
4. FLORIDA 1189.00
5. Virginia 1066.25
6. Texas A&M 1059.25
7. North Carolina 1035.75
8. Michigan 1030.00
9. Alabama 1028.40
10. UCLA 1017.50

LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup

The LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup, presented annually by the nation’s athletics directors, recognizes the schools with the best overall sports performances in an academic year. The scoring system uses finishes in NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and women’s volleyball championship action. Additionally, a program can receive points in up to 15 other sports toward its final score. Texas claimed its third Directors’ Cup this season.

In the last 15 seasons, 15 different programs appeared among the Directors’ Cup final top five. Only Florida and Stanford appear in each top five since 2008-09, with Michigan (7), Ohio State and Southern California (6) earning the next-highest number of top-five finishes in that span.

UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin says:

“Another NCAA title by men’s outdoor track & field was among many celebratory moments for the Gators this season. Eleven top-five Florida finishes includes a national-high nine among the top three. So much effort and training goes into preparing to compete on the national stage so we applaud the competitive spirit of our student-athletes, coaches and staff.”

2023-24 Individual NCAA Champions for the Gators:

Eleven Gators claimed a national high 15 NCAA individual titles across five sports in 2023-24 season.

2023-24 NCAA Individual National Champions
Sport Name Event
Women’s Cross Country Parker Valby Race Winner
Gymnastics Leanne Wong Uneven Bars
Men’s Swimming Josh Liedo 50 & 100 freestyle; 100 butterfly
Josh Liendo , Adam Chaney, Julian Smith, Macguire McDuff 200 Freestyle Relay
  Adam Chaney, Julian Smith, Josh Liendo, Macguire McDuff 200 Medley Relay
Women’s Swimming Bella Simms 200 & 500 freestyle
Bella Sims, Isabel Ivey, Emma Weyant, Micayla Cronk 800 freestyle relay
Track & Field (indoor) Parker Valby 3000 & 5000 meters
Track & Field (outdoor) Grace Stark 100-meter hurdles
Parker Valby 5,000 & 10,000 meters

Other Gators successes:

Four Southeastern Conference titles (women’s cross country, gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, volleyball) pushed the Gators’ league-leading total of 265 titles all-time. Lacrosse won its final American Athletic Conference title in 2024 as the team moves to the Big 12 for the 2025 season.

Two Gator teams won 2024 conference tournament titles. Softball won its sixth SEC Tournament title, which shares the top total of wins in the event’s history. Lacrosse won its 10th consecutive conference tournament title and 11th overall in Nashville, Tenn., at the 2024 AAC Tournament.

National athlete of the year honors went to three Gators in 2023-24:

  • Jac Caglianone
    • John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year by College Baseball Foundation
    • Perfect Game Two-Way Player of the Year
  • Jocelyn Erickson
    • TUCCI/NFCA Division I Player of the Year Award
  • Parker Valby
    • Honda Award (cross country and track & field)
    • USTFCCCA Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Runner of the Year

Seven Gators picked up nine conference athlete of the year honors in 2023-24. This is the 47th consecutive season at least one Gator claimed league athlete of the year accolades.

  • Leilani Correa SEC Women’s Basketball 6th Woman of the Year
  • Jocelyn Erickson SEC Softball Player of the Year
  • Elyse Finnelle AAC Goalkeeper of the Year
  • Maggi Hall AAC Attacker of the Year
  • Josh Liendo SEC Swimmer of the Year
  • Bella Sims SEC Swimmer of the Year
  • Parker Valby SEC Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Runner of the Year

Gators by the Numbers

Men’s outdoor track & field NCAA team crown marks the 15th straight complete season a Gator team won a national team title. Florida has won 27 national team titles since the 2008-09 season.

  • 11 top-five national team finishes.
  • 22nd consecutive complete season 10 or more Gator teams among final top 10. Includes a national high nine among the top three.
  • 5 conference titles by the Gators in 2023-24 – women’s cross country, gymnastics, lacrosse, men’s & women’s swimming & diving.
  • 95 percent Graduation Success Rate, as reported last fall in the 2023 NCAA Federal Graduation Rate Date, set UF’s all-time high.
  • 3.325 grade point average by Gator student-athletes in 2023-24 academic year – an all-time high.
  • A record 433 Gators earned 2023-24 SEC Academic Honor Roll recognition.
  • 1 named NCAA Elite 90 recipient as student-athlete with highest GPA at NCAA Lacrosse Championships – Emily Lortz.
  • 3 College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans – Jake Mitchell (swimming), Korbe Otis (softball) and Emma Weyant (swimming) – more possible.
  • 3 picked up 4 conference coach of the year honors, marking 29th consecutive season at least one UF coach was recognized. Third consecutive national coach of the year for Michael Holloway (USTFCCCA National Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year).
By Mary Howard UF Athletics Photos by Isaac Wasserman UF Athletics Published July 3, 2024