Did BYU or Utah have the strongest 2025-26 sports year overall?

Thanks to strong performances by its men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams, along with more success in football, men’s basketball and women’s soccer, BYU is again the premier athletic program in the Big 12 and among the top in the country.

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The Cougars finished No. 25 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Division I standings for the second straight year after the 2025-26 school year concluded with Oklahoma winning the College Baseball World Series on Tuesday. The final standings were released on Thursday by the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

It is the third time since 2021 and ninth time in the past 23 years that BYU has finished in the top 25.

BYU, which tallied 730 points, is the highest ranked Big 12 school for the second straight year. The Cougars had 309.5 points in the fall, 223.25 points in the winter and 197.25 points in the spring, following a trend in which BYU starts fast due to having outstanding cross country, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and football teams in the fall, then drops in the standings as the academic year wears on.

BYU was in second place in the overall standings, with 309 points, at the conclusion of fall sports, behind only North Carolina (359 points).

“Finishing in the top 25 of the Directors’ Cup standings two years in a row is a testament to our incredible student-athletes and coaches,” said BYU athletic director Brian Santiago in a school news release.

“Together we have built positive momentum that will carry us forward towards our goal of national relevance in every sport. The future is bright.”

Along with earning points in the aforementioned sports, BYU also earned points in women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s golf and women’s tennis.

BYU’s best finish nationally was a runner-up finish (second) at the women’s cross country championships last November.

In the Big 12, Oklahoma State was second at No. 28, TCU was third at No. 33, Texas Tech was fourth at No. 35 and Arizona was fifth at No. 36.

The University of Utah was 13th in the Big 12 and No. 63 in the country. Utah tallied 435.25 points.

Utah has won the unofficial competition among Beehive State schools only once since the Directors’ Cup program began in 1993, finishing 28th nationally in 2022-23, when BYU was 37th in its final academic year outside a power conference.

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BYU has been the highest finisher among Utah schools in every year but 2023.

In 2023-24, BYU’s first academic year in the Big 12, the Cougars finished 36th with 637.5 points. Utah was 47th, with 527.5 points.

In 2024-25, BYU finished No. 25, improving on a No. 36 finish from the previous year. The Cougars racked up 813.75 points in 2024-25 on the strength of its men’s and women’s cross country teams sweeping the national championships in November of 2024.

The Directors’ Cup is directed by NACDA and honors schools for all-around success in all sports sponsored by the NCAA. The higher the national finish, the more points awarded to the institution.

A total of 19 teams can be scored for the final standings, and five must be women’s basketball, soccer and volleyball and men’s basketball and baseball.

Texas claimed three national titles — men’s swimming and diving, women’s rowing and softball — to rack up 1,322 points and win its fifth overall Directors’ Cup title.

Stanford (1,263.5 points) placed second after winning national championships in men’s gymnastics and women’s golf.

Among other Utah schools, Utah State of the Mountain West checked in at No. 85 place with 262.5 points. The Aggies moved up from 104th place last year, when they tallied 180 points, and will have one more year in the Mountain West before moving on to the Pac-12 in 2027-28.

Utah Valley of the Western Athletic Conference finished tied for 171st with Hofstra, while Southern Utah checked in at No. 243.