From UGA...
The University of Georgia Athletic Association is No. 7 in the final edition of the 2023 LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup National All-Sports Standings, which were released Wednesday. The seventh-place finish marks Georgia’s highest final ranking since 2005.
Of Georgia’s 21 athletic teams, 17 finished in the top 20 of their sports’ respective rankings during the 2022-23 season, while an impressive nine ended in the top 10. The Bulldogs also posted a record-breaking academic year, setting a new school-high mark with a 3.19 cumulative GPA, besting the fall GPA record before earning the second-highest spring GPA in school history.
This ties for the fourth-best ranking and 12th top-10 finish in school history as Georgia remains one of only nine departments nationwide to maintain at least a top-25 ranking each year since 2000, joining Stanford, UCLA, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, and USC.
The University of Georgia has now finished in the top 25 of the Directors’ Cup and the U.S. News and World Reports’ Top Public Universities in each of the last 23 years.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment by our entire athletic department,” J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks said. “I am so proud of our student-athletes, coaches, and teams, who had record-breaking accomplishments during the 2022-23 athletics season. From championships to our best-ever GPA, to community service and Scholar-Athlete recognitions, Bulldog student-athletes represented the best of the best in college athletics this season. I want to thank everyone who worked hard in achieving this goal.”
Below are a few notes on Georgia’s success during the 2022-23 athletics season.
NACDA Top-10 Finishes (9 Total including equestrian)
Football — #1
Men’s Indoor Track and Field — #2
Women’s Tennis — #3
Men’s Tennis — #5
Women’s Indoor Track and Field — #5
Men’s Outdoor Track and Field — #7
Softball — #9
Women’s Outdoor Track and Field — #10
*Equestrian — #6
NACDA Top-20 Finishes (17 Total including equestrian)
Football — #1
Men’s Indoor Track and Field — #2
Women’s Tennis — #3
Men’s Tennis — #5
Women’s Indoor Track and Field — #5
*Equestrian — #6
Men’s Outdoor Track and Field — #7
Softball — #9
Women’s Outdoor Track and Field — #10
Men’s Swimming and Diving — #12
Women’s Golf — #14
Men’s Golf — #14
Women’s Swimming and Diving — #16
Soccer — #17
Volleyball — #17
Women’s Basketball — #17
Gymnastics — #17
*Equestrian rankings are based on the National Collegiate Equestrian Association.
Team Championships
Football — SEC and College Football Playoff National Champions
Men’s Tennis — SEC Regular Season Champions
Women’s Tennis — SEC Tournament Champions
Individual National Champions
Kyle Garland — Indoor Track and Field — Heptathlon
Elija Godwin — Indoor Track and Field — 400-meter dash
Matthew Boling — Indoor Track and Field — 200-meter dash
Ethan Quinn — Men’s Tennis — NCAA Singles National Champion
Will Sumner — Outdoor Track and Field — 800-meter dash
Georgia Athletics 2022-23 Season Highlights
» The Bulldog soccer and volleyball programs each made the NCAA tournament in the same season for the first time in Georgia history -- each advancing to the second round.
» Georgia football became the first team to win back-to-back national titles in the CFP era.
» Caryl Smith Gilbert led the men’s track and field team to a program-record second-place finish in the NCAA National Indoor Championships, while leading the women’s team to a top-5 mark. She also led the men’s and women’s teams to top-10 finishes at the NCAA National Outdoor Championships. Smith Gilbert was named the USTFCCCA South Region Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year, while Kyle Garland was named the USTFCCCA Male Athlete of the Year and Will Sumner was tabbed the South Region Men’s Athlete of the Year.
» Under McAlpine’s leadership, Georgia soccer made its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014, recorded its first NCAA tournament win since 2011 and posted the program’s first appearance in the SEC tournament semifinals since 2010.
» Men’s basketball coach Mike White led Georgia to the second-best regular-season turnaround nationally among Power-5 programs with a 10-win improvement in his first year.
» Women’s basketball head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson guided Georgia to 22 wins – its most in five years – with a victory over Florida State in the NCAA tournament, marking the program’s first victory over a Power 5 team in the tourney in 10 years.
» Under the leadership of Tony Baldwin, Georgia softball finished second in the SEC standings and advanced to a NCAA Super Regional
» Women’s Tennis won the SEC tournament title in the final season of Jeff Wallace’s storied career. The team earned a bid to the NCAA semifinals for the 15th time in program history.
» Men’s Tennis won the program’s 42nd overall SEC crown, going undefeated in league play, before advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. Freshman Ethan Quinn captured the fifth NCAA singles crown in program history.
» Both men’s and women’s golf teams swept the team and individual titles at their respective NCAA regionals, a first by any school since 2016. Both teams went on to finish in the top-15 nationally.
» Women’s golfer Jenny Bae won the individual title at the NCAA Athens Regional and won the Juli Inkster Award as the top college female golfer in her final season of eligibility.
» Football’s Kirby Smart, men’s tennis’ Manny Diaz and volleyball’s Tom Black were each named SEC Coach of the Year for their respective sports.
» J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks was named one of six finalists for the 2023 Sports Business Journal Athletic Director of the Year award.
Academic Achievements
» The 3.19 cumulative GPA for the 2022-23 academic year is the highest on record for Georgia student-athletes. Bulldog student-athletes boasted a record-setting 3.22 fall GPA and the second-highest spring GPA in Georgia history with a 3.18.
- Callie Dickinson — a member of the Georgia women’s swimming and diving program — and football student-athlete Jack Podlesny earned SEC postgraduate scholarships.
- Dickinson also garnered the H. Boyd McWhorter SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, the highest honor a SEC student-athlete can receive. The Georgia men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs have earned this award nine times — more than any other program in the SEC. Georgia also ties for the conference lead with 11 overall winners.
- Volleyball’s Sage Powell and track and field’s Matthew Boling were named SEC Brad Davis Award Winners. Boling also earned SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year for a record-breaking fourth time in his career.
UGA’s All-Time LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup Rankings
1994 – 21st
1995 – 14th
1996 – 11th
1997 -- 28th
1998 -- 7th
1999 -- 2nd
2000 -- 11th
2001 -- 3rd
2002 -- 8th
2003 -- 15th
2004 -- 5th
2005 -- 7th
2006 – 9th
2007 – 12th
2008 – 10th
2009 – 18th
2010 – 20th
2011 – 20th
2012 – 18th
2013 – 10th
2014 – 16th
2015 – 14th
2016 – 15th
2017 – 15th
2018 – 8th
2019 – 21st
2020 – covid
2021 – 10th
2022 – 19th
2023 – 7th
The University of Georgia Athletic Association is No. 7 in the final edition of the 2023 LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup National All-Sports Standings, which were released Wednesday. The seventh-place finish marks Georgia’s highest final ranking since 2005.
Of Georgia’s 21 athletic teams, 17 finished in the top 20 of their sports’ respective rankings during the 2022-23 season, while an impressive nine ended in the top 10. The Bulldogs also posted a record-breaking academic year, setting a new school-high mark with a 3.19 cumulative GPA, besting the fall GPA record before earning the second-highest spring GPA in school history.
This ties for the fourth-best ranking and 12th top-10 finish in school history as Georgia remains one of only nine departments nationwide to maintain at least a top-25 ranking each year since 2000, joining Stanford, UCLA, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, and USC.
The University of Georgia has now finished in the top 25 of the Directors’ Cup and the U.S. News and World Reports’ Top Public Universities in each of the last 23 years.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment by our entire athletic department,” J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks said. “I am so proud of our student-athletes, coaches, and teams, who had record-breaking accomplishments during the 2022-23 athletics season. From championships to our best-ever GPA, to community service and Scholar-Athlete recognitions, Bulldog student-athletes represented the best of the best in college athletics this season. I want to thank everyone who worked hard in achieving this goal.”
Below are a few notes on Georgia’s success during the 2022-23 athletics season.
NACDA Top-10 Finishes (9 Total including equestrian)
Football — #1
Men’s Indoor Track and Field — #2
Women’s Tennis — #3
Men’s Tennis — #5
Women’s Indoor Track and Field — #5
Men’s Outdoor Track and Field — #7
Softball — #9
Women’s Outdoor Track and Field — #10
*Equestrian — #6
NACDA Top-20 Finishes (17 Total including equestrian)
Football — #1
Men’s Indoor Track and Field — #2
Women’s Tennis — #3
Men’s Tennis — #5
Women’s Indoor Track and Field — #5
*Equestrian — #6
Men’s Outdoor Track and Field — #7
Softball — #9
Women’s Outdoor Track and Field — #10
Men’s Swimming and Diving — #12
Women’s Golf — #14
Men’s Golf — #14
Women’s Swimming and Diving — #16
Soccer — #17
Volleyball — #17
Women’s Basketball — #17
Gymnastics — #17
*Equestrian rankings are based on the National Collegiate Equestrian Association.
Team Championships
Football — SEC and College Football Playoff National Champions
Men’s Tennis — SEC Regular Season Champions
Women’s Tennis — SEC Tournament Champions
Individual National Champions
Kyle Garland — Indoor Track and Field — Heptathlon
Elija Godwin — Indoor Track and Field — 400-meter dash
Matthew Boling — Indoor Track and Field — 200-meter dash
Ethan Quinn — Men’s Tennis — NCAA Singles National Champion
Will Sumner — Outdoor Track and Field — 800-meter dash
Georgia Athletics 2022-23 Season Highlights
» The Bulldog soccer and volleyball programs each made the NCAA tournament in the same season for the first time in Georgia history -- each advancing to the second round.
» Georgia football became the first team to win back-to-back national titles in the CFP era.
» Caryl Smith Gilbert led the men’s track and field team to a program-record second-place finish in the NCAA National Indoor Championships, while leading the women’s team to a top-5 mark. She also led the men’s and women’s teams to top-10 finishes at the NCAA National Outdoor Championships. Smith Gilbert was named the USTFCCCA South Region Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year, while Kyle Garland was named the USTFCCCA Male Athlete of the Year and Will Sumner was tabbed the South Region Men’s Athlete of the Year.
» Under McAlpine’s leadership, Georgia soccer made its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014, recorded its first NCAA tournament win since 2011 and posted the program’s first appearance in the SEC tournament semifinals since 2010.
» Men’s basketball coach Mike White led Georgia to the second-best regular-season turnaround nationally among Power-5 programs with a 10-win improvement in his first year.
» Women’s basketball head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson guided Georgia to 22 wins – its most in five years – with a victory over Florida State in the NCAA tournament, marking the program’s first victory over a Power 5 team in the tourney in 10 years.
» Under the leadership of Tony Baldwin, Georgia softball finished second in the SEC standings and advanced to a NCAA Super Regional
» Women’s Tennis won the SEC tournament title in the final season of Jeff Wallace’s storied career. The team earned a bid to the NCAA semifinals for the 15th time in program history.
» Men’s Tennis won the program’s 42nd overall SEC crown, going undefeated in league play, before advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. Freshman Ethan Quinn captured the fifth NCAA singles crown in program history.
» Both men’s and women’s golf teams swept the team and individual titles at their respective NCAA regionals, a first by any school since 2016. Both teams went on to finish in the top-15 nationally.
» Women’s golfer Jenny Bae won the individual title at the NCAA Athens Regional and won the Juli Inkster Award as the top college female golfer in her final season of eligibility.
» Football’s Kirby Smart, men’s tennis’ Manny Diaz and volleyball’s Tom Black were each named SEC Coach of the Year for their respective sports.
» J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks was named one of six finalists for the 2023 Sports Business Journal Athletic Director of the Year award.
Academic Achievements
» The 3.19 cumulative GPA for the 2022-23 academic year is the highest on record for Georgia student-athletes. Bulldog student-athletes boasted a record-setting 3.22 fall GPA and the second-highest spring GPA in Georgia history with a 3.18.
- Callie Dickinson — a member of the Georgia women’s swimming and diving program — and football student-athlete Jack Podlesny earned SEC postgraduate scholarships.
- Dickinson also garnered the H. Boyd McWhorter SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year Award, the highest honor a SEC student-athlete can receive. The Georgia men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs have earned this award nine times — more than any other program in the SEC. Georgia also ties for the conference lead with 11 overall winners.
- Volleyball’s Sage Powell and track and field’s Matthew Boling were named SEC Brad Davis Award Winners. Boling also earned SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year for a record-breaking fourth time in his career.
UGA’s All-Time LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup Rankings
1994 – 21st
1995 – 14th
1996 – 11th
1997 -- 28th
1998 -- 7th
1999 -- 2nd
2000 -- 11th
2001 -- 3rd
2002 -- 8th
2003 -- 15th
2004 -- 5th
2005 -- 7th
2006 – 9th
2007 – 12th
2008 – 10th
2009 – 18th
2010 – 20th
2011 – 20th
2012 – 18th
2013 – 10th
2014 – 16th
2015 – 14th
2016 – 15th
2017 – 15th
2018 – 8th
2019 – 21st
2020 – covid
2021 – 10th
2022 – 19th
2023 – 7th
