CLEVELAND — For the sixth straight academic year, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) recognized Montreat College with a top-100 spot in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup final standings. According to a release from the organization on Tuesday afternoon, the Cavaliers nearly broke into the top 50, landing at No. 51 out of 187 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) institutions.
 
The 51^st-place finish as an athletics department marked the Cavs' third-best year-end standing in school history.
 
Overall, Montreat secured 370 points in the 2025-26 LEARFIELD Directors' Cup final standings, second-most among Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) institutions. The Cavaliers sat just six points behind Arizona Christian University for a top-50 placement.
 
A strong autumn showing set the Cavs up well early on. Montreat stood in 38^th after the fall sports season, with its men's and women's cross country squads combining for 108 points thanks to a pair of top-25 finishes at the 2025 NAIA Cross Country Championships. The Cavaliers tacked on another 143.50 points during the winter sports season, courtesy of the men's and women's indoor track & field (107.5 points) and men's wrestling (36 points) programs, leaving the department at No. 54 nationally.
 
Montreat's final 118.50 points occurred during the spring. A 14^th-place women's effort and a 16^th-place men's performance at the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships resulted in additional scoring for the athletics department, bringing its overall tally to 370 points.
 
Known as the crowning achievement in collegiate athletics, the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup honors institutions maintaining broad-based departments that attain national success in both men's and women's sports. The LEARFIELD Directors' Cup ranks the top athletic department in the country at each level of competition—NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III and NAIA—based on postseason accomplishments.
 
To earn points in the standings, an institution must have teams competing at national championship events or tournaments. Not only do appearances on the national stage garner attention, but also the level of performance while at national events contributes to the number of points gained in the standings.
 
For the official NACDA release, click here. To view the final 2025-26 LEARFIELD Directors' Cup NAIA standings, click here.