CLEVELAND - With only the NCAA Men's World Series to be scored, FDU Athletics sits in 92nd place in the 2022-23 LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings following the Knights' incredible athletic year. This year-end finish marks the highest in program history since the Directors' Cup began in the 1993-94 academic year. Additionally, FDU's mark sets a new Northeast Conference best as well as the first top-100 finish in conference history, with the previous high mark held by former member Bryant (103).

Led by fifth-year Director of Athletics Bradford Hurlbut, FDU led the NEC as the Knights' 92nd rank was enough to top LIU (112) and Sacred Heart (162), while Saint Francis U, St. Francis Brooklyn and Merrimack rounded-out the NEC representatives in the Cup at 257th place. This is the second-consecutive year that FDU has led the NEC in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings.
 
Looking locally in the State of New Jersey, FDU ranked second only behind the Princeton (23), followed by Rutgers (126), Rider (193), NJIT (245) and Monmouth (294). Seton Hall and Saint Peter's did not earn points.

"Today's LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings announcement solidifies the Knights' place in the national collegiate landscape," said Hurlbut. "Our more than 300 student-athletes represented FDU with integrity, pride, resilience, respect and unity in and out of competitions resulting in our historic finish. With a special shout-out to our NEC automatic qualifiers of men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball and men's basketball, on top of everything Salif Mane did on the track both indoors and outdoors, 2022-23 marked an incredible year for Knights Athletics! The future is bright on the banks of the Hackensack. Champions live here!"

NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris added, "Congratulations to the FDU athletics community on their incredible success this year. To finish in the Top 100 is a wonderful accomplishment and represents the NEC proudly on the national stage."

Following a trio of NEC titles in the fall, FDU earned NCAA tournament berths in both men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball, earning valuable points towards the prestigious national honor. In the winter, after winning its First Four game, FDU shocked the world with a stunning upset of top-seeded Purdue in the NCAA men's basketball tournament with the Burgundy and Blue advancing to the March Madness second round for the first time in program history. Also in the winter, senior four-time All-American Salif Mane of the men's track and field program punched his ticket to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the triple jump event, finishing as the national runner-up and providing additional points for the Directors' Cup to the Department as a whole.

Mane continued his heroics in the spring, earning a spot in the NCAA outdoor championships in triple jump, finishing fifth in the country. Teammates Taeco O'Garro and Ahmed Brown qualified for the NCAA Regional in Jacksonville as well, counting towards the Knights' total. With his First Team All-American performance in the championship, Mane became the first three-time First Team All-American in NEC men's track and field history.

FDU's 92nd place ranks the program in the top third of Division I institutions ranked with each program earning points based upon their postseason finish in NCAA Championships. Organized by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and LEARFIELD, the contest scores 19 sports in the final DI standings, four of which must be women's volleyball and basketball and men's basketball and baseball. The next highest sports scored for each institution, with a 15-sport maximum, regardless of gender, are used in the standings.

The final LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings will be announced following the completion of the NCAA Men's World Series. On a national level, Stanford clinched the overall title with 1,339.00 points, followed by Texas, Ohio State, USC and Georgia in the top five.

For more information on the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup program, please click here.

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