CLEVELAND, Ohio - For the fourth consecutive year, the Marian University Athletics Department boasted a top-five finish in the annual Learfield Directors' Cup, as Marian finished fourth in the final NAIA Standings. Marian's placement is the third consecutive year that the Knights have finished fourth in the nation, matching the finish in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. The final standings were released this afternoon at the annual NACDA Convention.

Overall, 13 sports are counted in the final NAIA standings, four of which must be men's basketball, men's soccer, women's basketball, and women's volleyball. The next highest (9 max.) sports scored for each institution, regardless of gender, are used in the standings. Marian's 11-counted sports for 2025-26 include: men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, women's basketball, women's cross country, softball, volleyball, women's soccer, men's bowling, and men's golf. 

Marian finished fourth overall this year with 861.00 total points. The Knights scored in two of the four sports that must be counted in the final standings – women's basketball and women's volleyball – with eight sports omitted: men's cross country, football, men's wrestling, baseball, women's golf, women's lacrosse, women's tennis, and men's tennis. Marian won the national championship in women's basketball, women's indoor and track and field, and men's indoor track and field, and was a national runner-up in men's bowling.

The 2025-26 athletics year was a banner season for the Knights, as the three national championships are the most won by Marian in a single school year. The Knights had 19 of their 24 NAIA varsity sports qualify for the NAIA postseason in the past year, the most in school history. 

Marian ended the spring with all nine of the school's spring sports qualifying for the NAIA postseason, marking the first time in school history that the feat had been accomplished. Men's golf and men's track and field led the spring sports with fourth-place finishes at their respective championships, while women's track and field finished sixth, and softball finished ninth. 

The University of the Cumberlands won the 2025-26 Directors' Cup for the third consecutive year, as the Patriots scored an NAIA-best 1021 points, winning one national championship and finishing runner-up four times. The Cumberlands scored all four of the required sports, as did runner-up Indiana Wesleyan, which totaled 969 points. Keiser finished third overall ahead of Marian with 918 points, while Lindsey Wilson finished fifth in the 2025-26 standings with 794.75 points. 

This is the seventh time Marian has finished in the top 10 in the Learfield standings, earning a top-five finish for the fourth consecutive year. Marian has been in the top-10 in 2015-16, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 before this year's finish.

About Learfield: Learfield is the media and technology company powering college athletics. Through its digital and physical platforms, Learfield owns and leverages a deep data set and relationships in the industry to drive revenue, growth, brand awareness, and fan engagement for brands, sports, and entertainment properties. With ties to over 1,200 collegiate institutions and over 12,000 local and national brand partners, Learfield's presence in college sports and live events delivers influence and maximizes reach to target audiences. With solutions for a 365-day, 24/7 fan experience, Learfield enables schools and brands to connect with fans through licensed merchandise, game ticketing, donor identification for athletic programs, exclusive custom content, innovative marketing initiatives, NIL solutions, and advanced digital platforms. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield Directors' Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.

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