INSIDE GOPHER ATHLETICS: ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE
July 2, 2018
The recently released final standings in the Learfield Directors' Cup race effectively marked the end of the 2017-18 athletic season and I could not be more proud of what our Gopher student-athletes and coaches accomplished in competition last year.
When we define success for our student-athletes, it starts with success as a student. A few weeks ago, I shared how our student-athletes are making the grade in the classroom like never before, breaking multiple department records this year while maintaining an outstanding 3.24 department-wide GPA and setting the standard for all Big Ten public schools with a 92 percent graduation success rate. We certainly saw academic excellence on display during these past 12 months.
From there, we define success for our student-athletes by how they compete, both in the country's premier athletic conference and on a national scale. We saw that athletic excellence across our department in all three seasons, from each of 25 programs and 700 student-athletes.
The Directors' Cup measures an athletics department across its enterprise, awarding points for NCAA postseason success across all sports. In total, there are 291 Division I schools in these standings. Among these 291 institutions, Minnesota finished 19th (fourth in the Big Ten).
Placing 19th puts Gopher Athletics in the top seven percent of the country. Please take a moment and consider that once more - when it comes to broad-based success, Minnesota and Gopher student-athletes are among the top seven percent of all Division I athletics departments in the country. That's an incredibly impressive feat that shows the strength and depth of our department.
That strength and depth has also been on display at the conference level. An annual review done by the Lincoln Star Journal highlights the average finish of Big Ten teams across all sports in conference competition. This year, Minnesota finished third in this informal, all-sports competition.
That result was driven, in part, by six conference championships. During the past two years, the Gophers have claimed 11 conference crowns, one of the highest totals in the league.
Looking back over the past five years, 13 different Gopher programs have won conference titles - more than half of all Gopher teams. It's this mix of championship-caliber programs throughout our department that keeps Minnesota among the leaders (both in the Big Ten and nationally) when it comes to all-sports standings.
On an individual level, our student-athletes are among the NCAA's highest achievers. It's their abilities that drive the success of their teams. Three different Gophers - Obsa Ali (3,000-meter steeplechase), Sarah Bacon (one-meter platform diving) and Kaitlyn Long (weight throw) - won individual national titles this year, tying Minnesota's highest single-year total for individual champs in the past 15 years. A roster of 57 different Gophers earned All-America recognition this year, which would be our third-largest varsity roster if it were a single team.
When it comes to broad-based results across the entirety of our athletics department, there are few schools in the Big Ten or around the country that can compete with Minnesota.
I'm looking forward to another exceptional year, academically and athletically, in 2018-19.
July 2, 2018
The recently released final standings in the Learfield Directors' Cup race effectively marked the end of the 2017-18 athletic season and I could not be more proud of what our Gopher student-athletes and coaches accomplished in competition last year.
When we define success for our student-athletes, it starts with success as a student. A few weeks ago, I shared how our student-athletes are making the grade in the classroom like never before, breaking multiple department records this year while maintaining an outstanding 3.24 department-wide GPA and setting the standard for all Big Ten public schools with a 92 percent graduation success rate. We certainly saw academic excellence on display during these past 12 months.
From there, we define success for our student-athletes by how they compete, both in the country's premier athletic conference and on a national scale. We saw that athletic excellence across our department in all three seasons, from each of 25 programs and 700 student-athletes.
The Directors' Cup measures an athletics department across its enterprise, awarding points for NCAA postseason success across all sports. In total, there are 291 Division I schools in these standings. Among these 291 institutions, Minnesota finished 19th (fourth in the Big Ten).
Placing 19th puts Gopher Athletics in the top seven percent of the country. Please take a moment and consider that once more - when it comes to broad-based success, Minnesota and Gopher student-athletes are among the top seven percent of all Division I athletics departments in the country. That's an incredibly impressive feat that shows the strength and depth of our department.
That strength and depth has also been on display at the conference level. An annual review done by the Lincoln Star Journal highlights the average finish of Big Ten teams across all sports in conference competition. This year, Minnesota finished third in this informal, all-sports competition.
That result was driven, in part, by six conference championships. During the past two years, the Gophers have claimed 11 conference crowns, one of the highest totals in the league.
Looking back over the past five years, 13 different Gopher programs have won conference titles - more than half of all Gopher teams. It's this mix of championship-caliber programs throughout our department that keeps Minnesota among the leaders (both in the Big Ten and nationally) when it comes to all-sports standings.
On an individual level, our student-athletes are among the NCAA's highest achievers. It's their abilities that drive the success of their teams. Three different Gophers - Obsa Ali (3,000-meter steeplechase), Sarah Bacon (one-meter platform diving) and Kaitlyn Long (weight throw) - won individual national titles this year, tying Minnesota's highest single-year total for individual champs in the past 15 years. A roster of 57 different Gophers earned All-America recognition this year, which would be our third-largest varsity roster if it were a single team.
When it comes to broad-based results across the entirety of our athletics department, there are few schools in the Big Ten or around the country that can compete with Minnesota.
I'm looking forward to another exceptional year, academically and athletically, in 2018-19.
