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STILLWATER – Oklahoma State finished 23rd nationally and third in the Big 12 in the final 2021-22 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, which measure collegiate athletic departments on their performance in competition.

OSU was bolstered by top-10 national finishes from softball, men’s cross country, men’s golf, football and women’s tennis plus top-25 national finishes from women’s cross country, wrestling, women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball, men’s outdoor track and field and women’s golf.

Learfield Directors’ Cup points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships. As a result, OSU did not get any Learfield Directors’ Cup points in equestrian despite the Cowgirls winning the team national championship because equestrian is not an NCAA-sponsored sport and therefore not eligible to be included in the point total.

Overall, 19 sports are counted in the final Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, four of which must be women’s volleyball and basketball and men’s basketball and baseball. The next highest (15 max.) sports scored for each institution, regardless of gender, are used in the standings. 

Because Oklahoma State does not sponsor women’s volleyball and does not get credit for its performance in equestrian, it has only 17 sports eligible for Learfield Directors’ Cup scoring, while most others count points from 19 sports. Operating with a two-sport handicap, Oklahoma State has still finished in the top 25 nationally the last two years and has finished in the top three of the Big 12 each of the last four years.

The announcement of the Learfield Directors’ Cup final standings closes a 2021-22 athletic year that saw the equestrian team win the first women’s varsity sport team national championship in Oklahoma State history. Additional highlights from the past academic year:
 

• The Cowboy football team played in its first Big 12 Championship Game after finishing the regular season atop the conference standings. OSU claimed wins over traditional powers Oklahoma and Texas, then turned around to topple No. 5 Notre Dame in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
• The softball team won its first Big 12 championship by beating No. 1 Oklahoma in the conference title game, then won its regional and swept Clemson in the super regional to advance to its third consecutive Women's College World Series.
• The men's and women's cross country teams both won Big 12 team championships, with the men going on to place third at the NCAA Championships and the women taking 13th.
• The women's tennis team advanced to the Sweet 16 at the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in the last seven years.
• Taylor Roe won the 189th NCAA individual title in OSU history by winning the indoor 3,000 meters.
• With Big 12 team championships from men's and women's cross country, equestrian and softball, Oklahoma State now has 326 team conference championships all time and 87 in the Big 12 era.
• Of Oklahoma State's 18 varsity sports, 13 produced top-20 national finishes and six produced top-10 national finishes, using the Learfield Directors' Cup scoring system.
• For the eighth time in the last nine years, Oklahoma State won the all-sports Bedlam Series.
• Oklahoma State produced 41 All-Americans across 14 sports in 2021-22. OSU's all-time total of All-Americans now stands at 1,306.
• Five OSU student-athletes earned a Big 12 Player of the Year honor in their respective sport, with four of those five coming from women's sports.
• Oklahoma State produced five CoSIDA Academic All-Americans – Hannah Webb (soccer), Kelly Maxwell and Chelsea Alexander (softball), Jake Thompson (baseball) and Ryan Smeeton (men’s cross country/track and field).

^As an NCEA sport (not NCAA), equestrian is not counted in OSU’s actual Learfield Directors’ Cup points total.