The Aurora University Athletic Department finished the 2016-2017 academic year as the top Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference school in the final Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Division III standings for yet another season. The Spartans finished 68th out of more than 420 Division III athletic programs around the United States. The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup is a comprehensive ranking of intercollegiate athletic departments based on their participation in NCAA Championship events.
Complete 2016-2017 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings
The Spartans were represented by four individual indoor men and women's track and field competitors in the NCAA Division III Championships in the winter, which accounted for 77.00 points in the Winter Directors' Cup Standings. Through the first two standings, AU placed 138th with the 77 points. In the spring NCAA Championship season, AU exploded to earn 212.75 points from the participation of the men's lacrosse, women's golf, and men and women's track and field at Division III Championship events.
"To finish in the top 20% of Division III institutions once again is a testament to the hard work and effort put forth by our student-athletes, coaches and staff on a daily basis," said AU Director of Athletics Jim
Hamad. "We had a solid year and continue with our aggressive plan to succeed in post-season competitions. The future is bright for AU athletics as we strive to offer an exemplary experience for our student-athletes."
The winter and spring seasons saw AU welcome the first NCAA Championship by a team or individual. Junior track and field thrower
Ryan Njegovan set the historic mark at the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Championship when he won the shot put event and then followed that performance at the Outdoor Championship, winning the discus event.
AU placed the highest among Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) programs with 289.75 points. Benedictine University finished second with 260.75 points in 76th place, Concordia University Wisconsin finished in 203rd place (80.00 points), Concordia University Chicago had 78 points in 206th place, Dominican University had 60.00 points in 234th place,
Milwaukee School of Engineering was 236th with 57.50 points, Lakeland University had 50.00 points for 241st place and Wisconsin Lutheran College finished with 28 points in 286th place.
The previous best finishes for the AU sport programs came in 2014-2015 (50th with 329.10 points), 2015-2016 (78th place with 201.25 points), 1997-1998 (94th with 70 points), 2004-2005 (96th with 164 points) and 2009-2010 (102nd with 185.5 points). AU finished the 2013-2014 season in 163rd place with 115 points.
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 up to 18 sports in Division III -- nine women's and nine men's.
