The University of Texas continues to set the standard for all-around collegiate success.
Powered by four national titles and a deep lineup of top finishes across multiple sports, Texas claimed the 2025–26 Learfield Directors’ Cup, marking the program’s third consecutive win and fifth in the last six years. The Longhorns finished with 1,322 points, holding off Stanford (1,263.5) for the top spot in Division I, as announced Thursday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
This latest run reinforces Texas’ position as the nation’s premier all-sports program. The Longhorns have now won three straight Cups, and only a runner-up finish in 2022–23 interrupted what could have been a six-year sweep. Since breaking Stanford’s decades-long dominance in 2020–21, Texas has consistently operated at a championship level across its athletic department.
The 2025–26 campaign was driven by NCAA titles in men’s swimming and diving, rowing, and softball, along with an ITA National Indoor Championship from men’s tennis. It marks the sixth straight year Texas has captured multiple national championships in the same season, tying a program record set from 1985 to 1991. Excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Longhorns have now won at least one NCAA team title in 11 consecutive years.
Depth remains a defining trait. Texas posted 11 top-five NCAA finishes and 13 top-10 results this season, continuing a six-year stretch that has produced 60 top-five and 78 top-10 finishes. Among the highlights: runner-up finishes in men’s tennis, Final Four appearances from women’s basketball and beach volleyball, and College World Series runs from both baseball and softball.
Notably, Texas was the only Division I program this year to send both its men’s and women’s basketball teams to the Sweet 16 while also placing both baseball and softball in their respective College World Series fields.
Success has also followed Texas into its new conference home. In just its second season in the SEC, the Longhorns captured six league titles, the most of any program, and have totaled 14 conference championships over two years, which is double the next closest schools. Including additional titles in other leagues, Texas secured seven conference crowns during the 2025–26 academic year.
Since athletic director Chris Del Conte’s arrival in 2017, Texas has compiled one of the most dominant stretches in college athletics history: 19 national championships, 98 top-10 NCAA finishes, and five Directors’ Cup victories.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup measures overall athletic department performance based on NCAA Championship results, with schools scoring across a maximum of 19 sports. Texas has now finished in the top 10 in 26 of the award’s 33-year history and has been the top program in its conference for 12 straight years.
Final Top 5 — 2025–26 Directors’ Cup
- Texas — 1,322.00
- Stanford — 1,263.50
- UCLA — 1,199.25
- North Carolina — 1,166.75
- Virginia — 1,148.75
