The Aurora University Athletic Department finished the 2025-2026 academic year with a program best showing all-time in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Division III standings. The Spartans finished 49th 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. Once again, AU was the top Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference school in the final Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Division III standings.
Complete 2025-2026 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings
The Spartans got off to a slow start to the year but picked up tremendously in the winter as AU added 171 points with men's hockey scoring 83 points, men's basketball scoring 25 and women's wrestling tallying 63. In the spring, AU racked up 196.5 points through the participation and success of the women's golf, men's golf, women's lacrosse and baseball programs in the field at NCAA Division III Championship events.
"Once again, AU student-athletes have given us a reason to say it's a great day to be a Spartan," said Aurora University President Susana Rivera-Mills. "This achievement is about more than a ranking. It reflects the character, leadership, and pursuit of excellence demonstrated by our student-athletes each day. That's a testament to the dedication of our entire Athletics Department, which works tirelessly to support and elevate our programs."
The 2025-2026 season saw AU with 10 programs have teams or individuals compete at the NCAA Division III Championship level. AU had six teams (women's golf, men's golf, men's hockey, men's basketball, baseball, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse) win regular season or conference tournament championships.
"Setting a new Aurora University record in the Learfield Cup standings is a tremendous accomplishment and a reflection of the collective effort of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff," said Vice President for Athletics
Jim Hamad. "We are proud of the competitive success our programs achieved this year, but we are equally proud of the academic excellence, leadership, and community engagement demonstrated by our more than 700 student-athletes. Their commitment to excellence in all areas is what embodies the values of Aurora University and is the foundation of our success."
For the 12th consecutive year of Learfield awarding Director's Cup points, AU led the way among Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) programs and was the only program to finish in the top 160, finishing 49th with 367.5 points. Concordia University Wisconsin finished 162nd, Illinois Institute of Technology finished 165th, Milwaukee School of Engineering was 180th, Edgewood University finished 194th, St. Norbert College came in 198th place, followed by Dominican University in 213th and Wisconsin Lutheran College in 236th.
The point total in 2025-2026 also marked the best finish all-time for the Spartan Athletic Department, a 10th consecutive finish for AU in the top 100 and 12th all-time. AU had previous best finishes in 2014-2015 (50th with 329.10 points), 2024-2025 (51st - 348.0 points), 2023-2024 (331.5 points - 55th place), 2017-2018 (61st with 299 points), 2016-2017 (68th place with 289.75 points), 2017-2018 (75th place with 258.0 points), 2021-2022 (76th with 235.5 points), 2015-2016 (78th place with 201.25 points), 2023-2024 (89th with 222.50 points), 1997-1998 (94th with 70 points), 2004-2005 (96th with 164 points) and 2009-2010 (102nd with 185.5 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.
