Nebraska nets worst-ever finish in Learfield Directors’ Cup | Huskers

NU officially ended 49th in the final standings released Thursday afternoon, its fate sealed when factoring in the baseball postseason the Huskers did not qualify for. Big Red had previously ended as low as 48th in 2018-19.

Nebraska finished with 516.5 points, ranking 10th in the Big Ten. Texas (1,449.5) won the title for a second straight year ahead of perennial powerhouse Stanford (1,352.25), Michigan (1,245.25), Ohio State (1,184.5) and Florida (1,180.75). The SEC led all Division I conferences with seven schools in the top 25.

The Cup awards points to each school that makes the postseason of a given sport. The national champion is awarded 100 points, and points descend incrementally from there. Schools can score in up to 19 sports, four of which must be men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and baseball. Schools with more sports, especially niche Olympic sports, tend to do better.

NU’s finish is the lowest since the Cup began with the 1993-94 NCAA athletics season. Nebraska finished in the top 20 for the first eight years of the Cup, dropped to 22nd in 2001-02 and hasn’t been above 30th since 2015-16, when NU finished 27th.

Only indoor/outdoor track and field and wrestling scored on the men’s side this cycle while football, men’s basketball and baseball weren’t close to reaching the postseason. Women’s teams to score were volleyball, basketball, softball and indoor/outdoor track.

Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts’ contract has an escalating bonus tied to NU’s Cup performance. A portion of the bonus kicks when the Huskers finish at least 30th. Last summer, Nebraska took 35th to reverse a multi-year downward trend.

Big Ten teams finishing behind NU are Illinois (52nd nationally), Purdue (53rd), Iowa (55th) and Indiana (64th).

2019-20: Canceled (COVID-19)