GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman is tied for 10th among NCAA Division I schools in the Learfield IMG College Director’s Cup competition, according to standings released Thursday.

The standings, which reflect completed NCAA competition in three sports — men’s and women’s cross country and field hockey — have Furman with 130.5 points, tied for 10th with Notre Dame among all Division I programs and once again tops among Southern Conference schools.

The standings include 74 schools that have accumulated points via NCAA tournament competition thus far.

Furman’s women’s cross country team racked up 69 points following an 2019 season that saw the Paladins claim their seventh consecutive SoCon Championship, finish second at the Southeast Region Championship, and ninth at the NCAA Championship. The Paladins were led by senior All-Americans Savannah Carnahan and Gabbi Jennings.

The Paladin men’s cross country team also won its seventh straight league title and placed fourth at the Southeast Regional and 14th at the NCAA Championship, where it earned 61.5 points. Senior Ryan Adams, the 2019 SoCon Runner of the Year, claimed an All-American citation after pacing the Furman squad at the national meet.

Furman has paced all SoCon schools in Learfield IMG College Director’s Cup competition the last three years, finishing 73rd overall for the 2018-19 school year — the best in program history and topping the previous high of 86th recorded during the 2001-02 school year — and has finished among the top 100 schools nationally for three consecutive years.

Given annually since 1994 to the school with the most successful, broad-based athletics program based on national finishes in both men’s and women’s sports, the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup was originally developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. In 1995 it was expanded to include Division II, III and the NAIA and, in 2011-12, expanded to include junior/community colleges