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Arkansas shattered its previous record with a program-best No. 8 finish in the 2020-21 Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup, it was announced Friday.
Led by a national title in women’s indoor track and field and 10 SEC regular-season and tournament championships, the Razorbacks finished six spots higher than their No. 14 ranking for the 1998-99 school year.
It is the 14th time Arkansas has finished with a top-25 ranking in the 27-year history of the Directors’ Cup, which weighs the success of all sports in programs across the country. That includes nine of the last 10 final standings.
The Razorbacks were the highest ranked team the competes in 19 or fewer sports and finished third among SEC programs, behind Florida (No. 5) and Alabama (No. 7).
“In a year that presented extraordinary challenges of competing within a pandemic, Razorback student-athletes responded to produce a collective season of unprecedented success for our program,” athletics director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. “It is only fitting that this phenomenal year of success culminates with one more top-10 national finish in the Directors’ Cup.
“Across the board, our sport programs competed and won in the nation’s most competitive conference. This record-breaking success is a credit to our incredible 465+ student-athletes who represent our program, our coaches and staff, and the passionate Razorback fans around the world who cheered them on.”
Arkansas qualified for postseason play in 18 of its 19 sports this year, with the only exception being volleyball - which was hindered by a reduced tournament field. The football team was selected to play in the Texas Bowl, but it was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within TCU’s program.
Included in the Razorbacks’ strong season were SEC Triple Crowns by the men’s and women’s track programs and regular-season conference titles in baseball, softball and soccer. The baseball team also won the SEC Tournament for the first time in school history, while the soccer and men’s golf teams finished runner-up in their SEC championship events.
The baseball and softball teams each earned national seeds in the NCAA Tournament before falling in the super regionals and the soccer team reached the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history.
In basketball, the men’s team ended its 25-year Sweet 16 drought and reached the Elite 8 for the first time since 1995 and the women’s team earned a No. 4 seed - its highest in 30 years - before a first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament.
