WBU 3rd in final fall Directors' Cup standings

Learfield Directors' Cup Standings

Wayland Baptist finishes the fall season in third place in the 2017-18 Learfield Directors' Cup NAIA standings.

Wayland stood in second place behind Columbia, Mo., prior to points being awarded for football. Since that time, Southern Oregon edged ahead of Wayland into second with 248 points, eight ahead of WBU's 240. Columbia leads with 307 points. Lindsey Wilson, Ky., is fourth with 238 points followed by Northwestern, Iowa, with 236.

The competition awards points based on schools' national finishes in up to 12 sports (six women's and six men's).

Wayland earned the maximum 100 points for its national title in men's soccer and collected 90 more for the national runner-up showing in women's cross country. The men's cross country team's 24^th-place finish produced 50 points.

Columbia is first after placing second in men's cross country, 30^th in women's cross country, fifth in men's soccer, ninth in women's soccer and 17^th in women's volleyball. Southern Oregon took third in football, fourth in men's cross country, 15^th in women's cross country, and 17^th in men's soccer.

British Columbia was in the lead two weeks ago after capturing both men's and women's cross country titles, but the school did not score in soccer, volleyball or football and now stands 11^th.

Oklahoma City is in 12th place with 195 points, derived from finishing third in both men's and women's cross country and 33^rd in volleyball. Other Sooner Athletic Conference teams on the scoreboard are Bacone, 66^th with 58½ points; Texas Wesleyan, 80^th with 37½ points; and USAO, 84^th with 25 points.

Wayland finished fourth in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings for the 2016-17 academic year, marking the fourth straight year WBU has placed in the top six athletic programs in the NAIA. Wayland finished an all-time best third two years ago, fourth in 2014-15, and sixth in 2013-14.

The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.  Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org.