GREENVILLE, S.C. – On the strength of its recent men's basketball NCAA Tournament appearance, Furman University finished the winter competition season ranked 115^th nationally among all Division I athletic programs in the 2025-26 Learfield Directors' Cup competition, according to updated standings announced today.

Furman's ranking is first among Southern Conference institutions, ahead of Samford (150), UNC Greensboro (160), Mercer (179), Wofford (211), The Citadel (257), and Chattanooga (262). 
 
The Paladins rank third among state institutions, trailing only South Carolina (44) and Clemson (59).

Furman paced SoCon schools in Learfield Directors' Cup competition last year and has led the way seven times over the last nine years.  The Paladins were the league front runner in March of 2020 when the worldwide Covid pandemic halted competition.

The Paladins, who currently have 108 Learfield Directors' Cup competition points, garnered 83 points the past fall following its men's soccer team brilliant 2025 campaign that saw head coach Doug Allison's squad claim both regular season and SoCon Tournament championships, as well as NCAA Tournament triumphs over Western Michigan, Hofstra, and Portland en route to the program's first appearance in the Men's College Cup in Cary, N.C.  Furman fell, 3-1, to eventual national champion Washington in the semifinals to complete the season with a 16-2-5 record and No. 3 final national ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll.
 
Furman's men's basketball's NCAA Tournament participation netted 35 competition points, and the Paladins will soon collect additional points following women's golf's SoCon Tournament championship, earned earlier this week.

Stanford emerged from the winter competition season ranked No. 1, with Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, and Penn State rounding out the top five.

Click HERE for full 2025-26 Learfield Directors' Cup fall standings.

The Learfield 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.