LEARFIELD Director's Cup, 2022 Final

Athletics

Panthers Top Sun Belt with Best Director's Cup Finish Ever

ATLANTA – Capping the most successful athletics year in school history, Georgia State led the Sun Belt Conference and finished an all-time high No. 88 in the final 2022 LEARFIELD Division I Director's Cup standings.
 
Georgia State earned points in football (bowl appearance and victory), men's soccer (NCAA berth and one victory), men's basketball (NCAA berth), men's tennis (NCAA berth) and women's beach volleyball (tied for fifth place in NCAA Championships) for a total of 216.5 points, also a school record.
 
Georgia State was the only Sun Belt school to finish in the top 100, easily outdistancing second-place Coastal Carolina, which finished at No. 108. The Panthers earned the highest finish for any Sun Belt program since 2014.
 
Georgia State's No. 88 finish places the program among the Top 25 schools outside the Power 5 conferences.
 
The LEARFIELD Director's 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 finish in NCAA Championships. Overall, 19 sports are counted in the final DI standings, four of which must be women's volleyball and basketball and men's basketball and baseball. The next highest (15 maximum) sports scored for each institution, regardless of gender, are in the standings.
 
 
2022 LEARFIELD DIVISION I DIRECTOR'S CUP
 
Georgia State finished No. 88 with 216.5 points
First in Sun Belt and only Sun Belt team in Top 100 (Coastal Carolina was second in Sun Belt at No. 110 with 163.5 points)
Top 25 among non-Power 5 schools
Highest finish in program history (previous high was 125 in 2008-09)
Highest finish by any Sun Belt school since Arkansas State in 2014
 
Sun Belt Conference Schools in Final Standings:
88. Georgia State (216.5 points)
110. Coastal Carolina (163.5)
118. Louisiana (143.5)
141. Texas State (123.0)
143. Georgia Southern (120.0)
162. South Alabama (102.5)
180. Arkansas State (89.0)
205. UT Arlington (72)
208. App State (71)
252. Little Rock (39.5)
DNS – Troy, ULM
 
 
2021-22 GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
 
Five post-season berths, including a football bowl game and four NCAA Tournament teams (Men's Basketball, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Beach Volleyball). Four NCAA teams is the second-most in school history and most since four in 2008-09.
 
Four post-season victories with football bowl win and NCAA Tournament wins in men's soccer (1) and beach volleyball (2). Three NCAA Tournament victories equals the total number before this year (Men's basketball in 2000-01 and 2014-15; Women's Tennis in 2013-14)
 
Three Conference Tournament Championships in Men's Basketball (Sun Belt), Men's Tennis (Sun Belt) and Beach Volleyball (C-USA), plus Sun Belt regular-season titles for Men's Tennis and Women's Tennis (shared)
 
School-record win totals in Football (8), Beach Volleyball (28) and Women's Tennis (17, tied record)
 
One of only five Group of Five schools to win a bowl game and make the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
 
Wins over ranked teams:
>Football vs. No. 21 Coastal Carolina
>Baseball vs. No. 15 Clemson
>Men's Soccer: No. 13 Akron, No. 14 West Virginia
>Beach Volleyball: 12 wins vs. ranked teams (highest ranked was No. 2 TCU, which equals the highest-ranked team GSU has defeated in any sport)
 
Beach Volleyball:
>Best NCAA performance for any Georgia State team (one of the final six teams)
>Final ranking of No. 7 is the highest final ranking for any GSU program
>First GSU program to win two NCAA Tournament games/matches in the same year
>School-record 28 victories
>Nine straight winning seasons, including six-straight 20-win seasons (not including 2020 COVID season)
>Three appearances in AVCA/NCAA national championship tournament in last eight years
 
Football:
>Second straight bowl victory and third straight winning season.
>Four bowl berths, including three victories, in five seasons under head coach Shawn Elliott
>Five bowl berths in the last eight years
 
Men's Basketball:
>Three Sun Belt Conference Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in the last five years and five in the last eight years.
>Reached Sun Belt Conference title game six times in the last nine years.
 
Women's Track & Field:
>Distance runner Marine Garnier won two Sun Belt Conference titles (Indoor DMR and outdoor 3000 SC) and earned All-Sun Belt honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track in 2021-22.
 
Baseball
>30-win season (first since 2015)
>15 Sun Belt Conference wins equals program high
>School-record 22 home runs by Max Ryerson
>Won at No. 15 Clemson for the Panthers' fifth win over Top 15 opponent in last two seasons
 
Men's Tennis
>Won Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships
>Earned seventh NCAA Tournament berth
 
Men's Soccer
>MAC runner-up
>Earned at-large berth in NCAA Tournament and defeated Charlotte in first round for first NCAA win in program history
 
Women's Tennis
>Won a share of Sun Belt regular season title
 
Academics
3.21 GPA for the 2021-22 year, highlighted by three Academic All-Americans (Matthew Fearnley, men's soccer; Eva Chivu, women's tennis; Marine Garnier, women's track/cc)
 
Print Friendly Version