MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan University Athletics department recorded highest point total in school history in the 2025-26 Division III Learfield Directors' Cup Standings. Accumulating 668.5 total points, the Cardinals edged ahead of last season's 667 total points for a record-setting season. The 668.5 points puts Wesleyan in 20^th place out of 427 colleges and universities classified as Division III for NCAA competition. This marks the second straight year Wesleyan has recorded a Top 20 finish and the third Top 20 result in school history (14^th in 2018-19, 19^th in 2024-25).

• 2025-26 Learfield Directors' Cup Final Standings

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 NCAA Tournament finishes in up to 18 sports – nine women's and nine men's – four of which must be men's basketball and soccer and women's basketball and soccer, leaving the next 14 highest points scored to also be counted.
 
After completing what was the best fall season in school history, wherein the Cardinals sat eighth nationally with every varsity fall sport either winning the NESCAC Championship and/or competing in the NCAA Tournament or Championship in the same season.
 
Wesleyan accumulated 273 points in the fall and 104.5 points in the winter before rounding out the academic year with 291 points in the spring, good enough for the eighth-highest point total among all schools across DIII this spring.
 
The women's tennis team earned 100 points for their thrilling run to the team's second NCAA National Championship. The Cardinals won 19 consecutive matches this spring, going undefeated at 10-0 in NESCAC regular season play before running through the NESCAC Tournament for the team's sixth NESCAC title. In the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinals toppled Moravian and Little Three rival Amherst to advance to the Quarterfinal round down in Tennessee. After coasting past Washington & Lee in a 4-0 sweep, Wesleyan battled past No. 1 ranked CMS, handing the Athenas their first loss to a DIII team all season, in a 4-3 triumph in the Semifinal round. Then in the national title match, Wesleyan avenged a regular season loss to WashU, claiming a 4-1 win to secure the team's second national title and become just the fourth varsity team in school history to win a national championship.
 
The women's lacrosse team enjoyed its most-successful season in team history, going 13-2 through the regular season while being ranked as high as No. 2 nationally. Wesleyan then went on to finish as the NESCAC runner-up for the third straight year, pulling off a miraculous overtime comeback win over Tufts in the Semifinal round that featured a goal with no time remaining in regulation to send the contest into OT. Then in the NCAA Tournament, Wesleyan earned home wins over Cortland, UChicago, and Trinity to advance to the Semifinal round for just the second time in team history. The Cardinals went on to defeat Salisbury 5-4 in the Semifinals, earning a spot in the National Championship game for the first time, ultimately finishing as the National Runner-Up and earning 90 points for Wesleyan in the Directors' Cup standings.
 
Men's lacrosse was the third program to earn points for Wesleyan in the Directors' Cup this spring, as the Cardinals went on a run to the NCAA Semifinal round for the fifth time in team history and first since 2018. The Cardinals went 11-3 over the regular season with notable wins coming over the eventual National Runner-Up RIT as well as Top 10 ranked Stevens and lobsided victories over Top 20 ranked Amherst and Middlebury. Wesleyan earned wins over Ohio Northern and Williams to advance to the Quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament where the Cardinals outscored No. 5 ranked Christopher Newport 10-2 in the second half on the way to a 15-7 win over the Captains. The run to the NCAA Semifinal earned Wesleyan 83 points in the Directors' Cup standings.
 
The final Directors' Cup standings featured several NESCAC schools ranked inside the Top 20 including Tufts in second place, Williams in fifth, Amherst in 10^th, and Middlebury in 13^th as Wesleyan finished fifth-best among NESCAC programs. WashU finished in first place with 1266.5 points, just 14 points ahead of Tufts, to win the Directors' Cup for the first time in school history, becoming the eighth different institution to take home the Learfield Directors' Cup.