TOWSON, Md. – For the first time since joining the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in 2001-02, the Towson University athletics department will finish first in the Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings.
 
Even though the final results will not be determined until the last week of June, following the conclusion of the College World Series, the winners have been established at every level and announced by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) on Tuesday afternoon: c
 
The Learfield Directors' Cup is a program that honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program, achieving success in many sports, both men's and women's. Points are tallied in 19 sports, four of which must be baseball, men's and women's basketball, and women's volleyball, then the next highest 15 for each institution. Points are earned for finishes in the postseason, with determinations given in bracketed, non-bracketed and individual sports. 
 
Towson finished with 168.5 points and currently ranks 106^th in the Division I standings ahead of Delaware (83 points) and William & Mary (70). UNCW has 50 points and will earn additional points for representing the conference in the baseball tournament, but not enough to pass Towson.
 
"I am thrilled to see the strides that we have made in this year's finish in the Learfield Cup," said Towson Director of Athletics Steve Eigenbrot. "We are very proud to lead the CAA in the standings and nearly finishing in the top 100 programs of Division I.  Doing so with points earned from four of our programs speaks to Towson's commitment to competitive excellence across the board.  I am extremely proud of that our student-athletes earned this recognition while also hitting high marks for their academic success and community service - it completes the picture of what it means to be a Towson Tiger."
 
The Tigers scored 25 points in the fall 2023 with the department's first-ever CAA title and NCAA Tournament appearance in women's soccer.

In the winter, gymnastics notched 53.5 points while earning its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. Brian Benzing's All-American performance at the NCAA Swimming & Diving championship, which included a second place finish in the 100-breatstroke and a B Final appearance in the 200-breaststroke, earning Towson 45 points.

The department added 45 points in spring 2024 as the Towson's men's lacrosse team won the CAA title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers finished in second place the CAA standings in 2013-14 and 2018-19 and since 2011-12 have ranked in the top five in 11 of the last 12 seasons played. There were not standings in 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Towson was also the only school in the Baltimore metropolitan area to finish in the top-200 of the DI standings.