In the final Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings, The University of Tulsa finished out the year ranked second among American Athletic Conference schools. Tulsa completed the 2021-22 athletic year ranked 87th nationally out of 295 Division I schools and trailed only 69th-ranked UCF in The American.
Tulsa accumulated 220.5 total points this year with five sports earning points, including men’s cross-country, football, men’s soccer, men’s tennis and men’s outdoor track & field amassing all the Golden Hurricane points. Tulsa has the smallest enrollment of all American Athletic Conference schools and is also the smallest FBS school in the nation.
Texas of the Big 12 finished the year as the No. 1 team in the country followed by Stanford, Michigan, Ohio State and Florida to round out the top five. In the AAC, Tulsa ranked ahead of SMU (#89), Memphis (#97), Houston (#99), South Florida (#112), Navy (#136), Cincinnati (#139), East Carolina (#195), Wichita State (#203) and Temple (#254).
The Golden Hurricane cross-country team placed sixth at the NCAA Championships after winning its eighth straight AAC title. Tulsa’s football team captured a victory at the Myrtle Beach Bowl to conclude the season with a 7-6 record.
Tulsa’s men’s soccer team posted one of the best seasons in school history with a 16-2-1 record and American Athletic Conference regular season and postseason championships. The Hurricane moved up to No. 2 in the national rankings during the season and ended the campaign ranked 10th nationally.
During the spring season, Tulsa earned points from the men’s tennis and track teams. The tennis team made its 19th NCAA tournament appearance in the past 30 seasons and finished the year with an overall 15-12 record. The men’s outdoor track team finished in fourth place at the conference meet, while earning points at the NCAA Championship.
The Learfield Sports Director’s Cup is a program that honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program, achieving success in many sports, both men’s and women’s. The program began in 1993-94 for Division I by NACDA and USA Today. Each institution is awarded points in a predetermined number of sports for men and women, and an overall champion, who records the highest number of points, is named when all NCAA competition is completed in the spring.
In NCAA Division I athletics, 20 sports are included in the ratings: the top 10 men’s and top 10 women’s sports.