With the completion of the five-year strategic spearheaded by Director of Athletics Scott Sidwell, we are proud to introduce a four-part series examining USF's Four Pillars of Success: win at the highest level, excel in the classroom, engage in the community, become leaders in the world.
 
Today we will look at the first pillar.
 
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On June 30 the final standings for the Learfield Directors' Cup were released and show The University of San Francisco finishing as the 105^th, program in the country scoring 174.0 points.  The Dons' finish was significant for many reasons.  First, it marked the first time since 1993-96 that USF finished in the top-200 in three-consecutive years; secondly, it marked just the third time that the Dons scored over 100 points; and lastly it was the highest finish ever for USF.  
 
The 105^th place among all NCAA Division I schools was fifth highest by schools without football.  Just ahead of the Dons were Denver, Wichita State, Pepperdine and Cal State Fullerton.  In 2017, when the Dons had their then-highest finish in program history, USF was the 13^th highest non-football school. The year before that when the Dons cracked the top-200 for the first time since 2004, USF finished 30^th among schools without football.
 
 
Under Sidwell's tenure, USF has consistently risen in the ranks of the Learfield Cup.  In his first full year the Dons were 209th, and have risen every year. 
 
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 NCAA Championships.
 
In 2017-18, USF secured 174.50 points. Of those, 140 came in the fall alone when the Dons secured West Coast Conference Championships in women's cross country and men's soccer.  Both teams would advance to the NCAA Championships; the women's cross-country team capturing second place and the men advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after knocking off Cal on the road in the first round.
 
The 140 points scored in the fall was a program record for the Dons in the Learfield Cup.  USF backed that impressive fall campaign with 34.50 points in the spring, thanks in part to strong finishes by men's golf and the track and field program. 
 
 
Since 2011, the Dons have earned seven WCC Championships, one WCC Tournament Championship, four WCC Individual Championships, an Individual National Championship, and 19 All-Americans.