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Director's Cup: The new Pac-12 and how every G6 conference stacked up
The Pac-12 used to mean Stanford and UCLA atop the all-sports standings. The rebuilt conference is positioning itself as perhaps the strongest overall athletic conference in the Group of 6.
Tim Stephens
The Pac-12 won or finished near the top of the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup for decades. Stanford claimed 26 titles. UCLA and Oregon were fixtures in the top five. The conference's identity was all-sports excellence.
That conference is gone and with it is its Autonomy Conference (i.e. Power Conference status). Stanford and Cal are in the ACC. UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon are in the Big Ten. Arizona State, Arizona, Utah and Colorado are in the Big 12. What remains is Oregon State, Washington State and seven incoming programs that officially join July 1.
The rebuilt Pac-12 will not challenge Texas for the Directors' Cup. But among the Group of 6, it is assembling arguably the most competitive all-sports roster in the standings.
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Sign Up FreeThe new Pac-12: Four of nine in the top 100
Four of the nine new Pac-12 members finished in the top 100 of the 2025-26 Directors' Cup. No other G6 conference matched that.
Rank | School | Previous Conference | Points
74 | Washington State | Pac-12 (holdover) | 320.00
82 | Oregon State | Pac-12 (holdover) | 278.00
85 | Utah State | Mountain West | 262.50
93 | Texas State | Sun Belt | 227.50
156 | Boise State | Mountain West | 104.00
188 | Gonzaga | WCC | 75.00
196 | Colorado State | Mountain West | 74.50
211 | Fresno State | Mountain West | 62.00
216 | San Diego State | Mountain West | 59.50
The two programs trending up are the ones arriving from other leagues. Utah State climbed from 144th to 85th over the last three years in the Mountain West. Texas State rose from 220th to 93rd in the same span in the Sun Belt.
Utah State's five-year trajectory:
- 2021-22: 116th
- 2022-23: 144th
- 2023-24: 136th
- 2024-25: 104th
- 2025-26: 85th
Texas State's five-year trajectory:
- 2021-22: 141st
- 2022-23: 220th
- 2023-24: 103rd
- 2024-25: 112th
- 2025-26: 93rd
Washington State posted its best finish in the five-year window at 74th. Oregon State has declined steadily — from 51st in 2021-22 to 82nd — but remains a top-100 program.
The Mountain West contingent had a down year collectively. Boise State dropped from 91st to 156th. Colorado State fell from 93rd to 196th. San Diego State continued a three-year slide from 86th to 216th. Conference realignment disrupted rosters and recruiting across those programs. The new Pac-12 gives them a higher-profile home.
Mountain West: Still strong at the top
The Mountain West loses five schools to the Pac-12 on July 1 but retains its two best Directors' Cup performers.
New Mexico finished 58th nationally with 449.50 points — the highest finish by any G6 school. The Lobos have been a top-100 program every year in the five-year window and hit 49th last year.
- 2021-22: 96th
- 2022-23: 74th
- 2023-24: 88th
- 2024-25: 49th
- 2025-26: 58th
Air Force finished 77th with 306.50 points. The Falcons have a five-year average rank of 78th — the most consistent top-100 G6 program in the country.
- 2021-22: 67th
- 2022-23: 66th
- 2023-24: 76th
- 2024-25: 105th
- 2025-26: 77th
Sun Belt: Losing its top finisher
Texas State led the Sun Belt at 93rd — and leaves for the Pac-12 on July 1. That makes Arkansas State (96th, 205.00 points) the conference's top returning program.
Arkansas State has climbed steadily from 180th to 96th over five years.
- 2021-22: 180th
- 2022-23: 132nd
- 2023-24: 89th
- 2024-25: 120th
- 2025-26: 96th
James Madison (127th) and Troy (130th) round out the Sun Belt's top three going forward.
Conference USA: Liberty and Jacksonville State lead
Liberty finished 87th with 245.50 points. Jacksonville State finished 95th with a program-record 220 points. The gap between those two and the rest of the conference is significant — third-place Louisiana Tech finished 153rd with 110 points while finishing out its final season in Conference USA.
Liberty's five-year trajectory:
- 2021-22: 74th
- 2022-23: 98th
- 2023-24: 118th
- 2024-25: 97th
- 2025-26: 87th
American Athletic Conference: Tulane on top
Tulane led the American at 97th with 204 points. The Green Wave's five-year trajectory is the steepest climb among G6 conference leaders.
- 2021-22: 292nd
- 2022-23: 102nd
- 2023-24: 142nd
- 2024-25: 160th
- 2025-26: 97th
Rice (108th, 162.50 points) and South Florida (119th, 141.00 points) round out the American's top three.
MAC: Quiet consistency
Western Michigan led the MAC at 102nd with 180 points. The Broncos are the most consistent mid-major Director's Cup program in the country — they have finished between 88th and 124th every year in the five-year window.
- 2021-22: 106th
- 2022-23: 124th
- 2023-24: 110th
- 2024-25: 88th
- 2025-26: 102nd
Akron (104th, 173.50 points) finished just behind Western Michigan, giving the MAC two programs in the top 105.
The top 10 G6 schools nationally
Rank | School | Conference | Points
58 | New Mexico | Mountain West | 449.50
74 | Washington State | Pac-12 | 320.00
77 | Air Force | Mountain West | 306.50
82 | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 278.00
85 | Utah State | Mountain West | 262.50
87 | Liberty | Conference USA | 245.50
93 | Texas State | Sun Belt | 227.50
95 | Jacksonville State | Conference USA | 220.00
96 | Arkansas State | Sun Belt | 205.00
97 | Tulane | American | 204.00
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Tim Stephens
Founder & CEO
Tim Stephens has spent nearly 40 years at the intersection of sports and technology — from small-town newspapers to leading day-to-day newsroom strategy for CBSSports.com. He founded Diehard Sports Network to cover the programs the industry forgot.
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