GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Boosted by its recent men's basketball NCAA Tournament appearance and first round victory, Furman University Athletics is again ranked among the nation's most successful NCAA Division I programs in Learfield IMG College Sports Directors' Cup competition for the 2022-23 school year.

Updated standings announced this week reveal Furman stands 92nd among 260 schools that have registered points for teams qualifying for NCAA Championships.  The Paladins' rank first among Southern Conference institutions, topping Samford (96th).  Other ranked SoCon programs include UNC Greensboro (152) and Chattanooga (170).

Furman has paced all SoCon schools in the competition five times over the last six years and was the league front runner in March of 2020 when the Covid pandemic halted competition.

Furman's current 129 points tally has been earned on the merit of three sports — women's cross country, football, and men's basketball — qualifying for NCAA Tournament play this year.  The Paladins trail only South Carolina (40) and Clemson (61) among state institutions.

Ohio State, Stanford, and Penn State top the competition, which will conclude in June.

Furman's points total will continue to grow via its women's golf program, which qualified for upcoming NCAA Tournament competition by winning the SoCon Tournament championship on Tuesday.  The Paladin women's tennis team is looking to follow up its regular season conference title with a tournament crown, which will a clinch NCAA Tournament berth and additional Directors' Cup points.

Click HERE for up-to-date 2022-23 Learfield IMG College Sports Directors' Cup results.

The Learfield IMG College Sports Directors' 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 NCAA Tournament competition finish in up to 20 sports in Division I — 10 men's and 10 women's.