Thanks to the national champion (again) Nittany Lion wrestling team and the Frozen Four finalist PSU women’s ice hockey team, Penn State placed No. 21 nationally in the recently-released Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, emblematic of a college athletic program’s overall excellence.
The Nittany Lion wrestlers won their fifth consecutive national title — and 13th overall — under Cael Sanderson, earning 100 points in the overall standings, while Jeff Kampersal’s ice hockey team advanced to the final four and even hosted the event, to earn 83 points.
But. But, it was not the year Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft wanted. Or expected. Or touted. He was vocal in his desire for Penn State to win four national championships in 2025-26. Only Sanderson, as usual, delivered. Men’s lacrosse and women’s ice hockey both made their final fours. Nothing topped the disappointment of Penn State football’s 7-6 overall record, including a crash-and-burn 3-3 start that got James Franklin fired after his Nittany Lions began the season ranked No. 2 nationally.
Overall, through firings and retirements, the 2025-26 season was the final one for six Penn State head coaches. In Kraft’s nearly four-year reign as AD, he has flipped nearly 60% of his head coaching staff, as 14 of the current 24 Penn State head coaches are now Kraft hires.
For the 2025-26 Learfield Cup, Penn State head coaching hires made by former AD Tim Curley produced 240 points — 28% of PSU’s total PSU points — led by Sanderson, men’s lacrosse coach Jeff Tambroni (65), women’s soccer coach Erica Dambach (50) and men’s ice hockey coach Guy Gadowsky (25). Head coaching hires made by Kraft’s predecessor, Sandy Barbour, yielded 461 points, or 57%. They are: track/cross country coach John Gondak (274.5), Kampersal (83), women’s gymnastics coach Sarah Brown (53.5) and women’s volleyball coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley (50).
Overall, Texas finished No. 1, followed by Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina and Virginia. Penn State placed sixth in the Big Ten Conference, trailing UCLA (third), USC (seventh), Ohio State 10th) and Michigan (17th). Oregon (23rd) and Wisconsin (24th) also cracked the Top 25.
Penn State’s finish at No. 21 is a drop from No. 16, where Kraft & Co. were in 2024-25. Penn State was 15th in 2022-23 and 23rd in 2023-24. But, TBH, Kraft’s tenure as athletic director will not be judged by his program’s Learfield finishes. The Top 3 legacy definers: The $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium, the football success of new head coach Matt Campbell and the Penn State deal with adidas, which kicks in July 1, ending a decades-long relationship with Nike.
CUP COUNTERS — The Learfield Cup has long been a measure of a college sports program’s overall success. Final national finishes are computed for a maximum of 19 sports, and five sports must be included: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. In the standings, the next 15 sports (maximum) are scored for each institution, regardless of gender, and are included in the standings. Women’s soccer and women’s volleyball each contributed 50 points.
Otherwise, the other three scored zero points, with women’s hoops coach Carolyn Krieger getting fired after seven seasons and a Big Ten winning percentage of .236. Kraft hired baseball coach Mike Gambino and men’s basketball coach Mike Rhoades. Their 2025-26 records: Baseball — 9-21 Big Ten, 65-35 overall. Men’s basketball — 4-17 Big Ten, 12-20 overall. Women’s basketball — 4-14, 11-18.
LEARFIELD CUP 2025-2026 FINAL STANDINGS
PENN STATE POINT-SCORERS — Overall, Penn State had 860 counting points, based on the 19-team scoring rule. Here are the Penn State teams that earned Learfield Cup points in 2025-26:
Wrestling (100 points), women’s ice hockey (83), women’s cross-country (67.5), men’s lacrosse (65), men’s fencing (57), women’s fencing (54), women’s gymnastics (53.5), men’s indoor track and field (53), women’s soccer (50), women’s volleyball (50), men’s outdoor track and field (50), football (45), women’s outdoor track and field (42.5), women’s indoor track and field (34.5), men’s gymnastics (32.5), men’s cross-country (27), men’s ice hockey (25), men’s swimming (24)
LEARFIELD CUP STANDINGS, YEAR-BY-YEAR — Here is where Penn State has ranked annually in Learfield Directors’ Cup standings beginning in 2002-03, as far back as records are available, with the athletics director for those seasons (year of spring season and standings release date noted):
PAT KRAFT (average finish: 18.75): 2023 – 15th; 2024 – 23rd; 2025 – 16th; 2026 – 21st.
SANDY BARBOUR (average finish: 20.4): 2015 – 8th; 2016 – 20th; 2017 – 8th; 2018 – 12th; 2019 – 13th; 2020 – Covid; 2021 – 39th; 2022 – 43rd.
DAVE JOYNER (average finish: 7.7): 2012 – 12th; 2013 – 6th; 2014 – 5th.
TIM CURLEY (average finish: 13.9): 2003 – 5th; 2004 – 13th; 2005 – 20th; 2006 – 15th; 2007 – 21st; 2008 – 9th; 2009 – 19th; 2010 – 11th; 2012 – 12th.
