The LEARFIELD Directors' Cup recognizes the nation’s most successful athletics department each academic year. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships. The final standings of the 21-22 academic year standings will be released June 16. The Director’s Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.

Standings after winter

• F&M sits tied for 69th with Susquehanna after the winter sports championships. Conference foe Johns Hopkins leads the nation in the rankings while Swarthmore (68th) and Haverford (76th) are the only other Centennial Conference schools to place in the top 100 following the conclusion of the winter championships.

• An Elite 8 appearance by women’s lacrosse (out of 292 schools who compete in Division III in the sport) and an 18th-place finish by men’s golf (out of 292 schools who compete in Division III at the sport) will add to F&M’s overall point total.

The Diplomats best finish in the Directors’ Cup rankings was 47th place in 2008-09.

We don’t do this enough. The accolades that our students and coaches earn leave me in complete awe. The effort, focus and intensity that they exert every day brings unparalleled compounded growth that is a defining part of the F&M transformation.

Look no further than student Jamie Belfer as a top example. She became just the College’s eighth overall First-Team Academic All-America selection and rewrote the record books in softball while elevating the Diplomat standard of excellence to new heights with her contributions on campus and in the community.

On the coaching side, baseball skipper Ryan Horning has earned the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year honor for the past three seasons and is the only CC coach to win it four years (2015, 2019, 2021, 2022)! He and his team also contribute in the local community, partnering with Team Impact, a non-profit that pairs children who are in a two-year therapy program following serious or chronic illness with a college team for healing from the emotional trauma and isolation experienced during their illness.

There’s also volleyball head coach Mary Kate Salko ‘01, who quietly yet confidently commands respect from her colleagues as an alumna, Hall of Fame member and 20-year veteran of the staff entering the fall 2022 season. Her instructional style and growth mindset has allowed her teams to consistently improve and remain a top contender in the region while also supporting colleagues to maximize their potential.

Our coaches will head on the road for much of the summer evaluating top talent at showcases and participating as facilitators for camps and clinics. This is a busy time for all sports to engage in relationship development with prospective student-athletes and families to secure commitments for the next incoming class.