AMHERST, Mass. -- Eight Amherst College teams competed in NCAA events in May, collecting 361 points between them, leading the Mammoths to a seventh-place finish nationally in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings for the 2024-25 season. 

It marked the 14th time Amherst has finished in the top 10 since 1999 and its highest finish since the Mammoths placed seventh in 2015-16. The Mammoths accumulated 288.50 points in the fall led by the men's soccer national championship, and 283.75 points over the winter, led by women's hockey's national runner-up finish. Together Amherst collected 933.25 points, just 10.25 points behind sixth-place MIT. 

"I'm incredibly proud of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and administrators for helping Amherst  achieve a No. 7 national finish in the Learfield Directors' Cup," Amherst College Director of Athletics Don Faulstick said. "When an organization experiences success like this, it's a reflection of the collective effort, commitment, and excellence of so many people. Our student-athletes continue to set the standard, both in competition and in the classroom, and this recognition is a testament to their hard work and dedication."

Emory University placed first with 1,198.75 points followed by Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Washington-St. Louis and Middlebury. 

The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's NCAA tournament finishes in up to 18 sports, including mandatory sports of men's and women's soccer and basketball. 

The Mammoths' spring total was helped along by both men's and women's golf, which both made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Amherst history. The Mammoth women finished 12th and the men 18th. In addition, both the men's and women's lacrosse teams earned NCAA Tournament bids, the women's first berth since 2019. Both men's and women's tennis and women's and men's track & field also collected Cup points this spring. 

Over the winter, the women's ice hockey team advanced to the Div. III national championship game for the second time in three years, collecting 90 of the Mammoths' 283.75 points. The women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the tournament before falling to eventual national runner-up Smith College, while the women's swimming & diving  team placed 13th in the country and the national meet and its men's counterparts 38th. The men's indoor track & field team also collected Cup points. 

In the fall, the men's soccer team won its second national championship with a penalty-kick win over Connecticut College and collected 100points for the Mammoths' 288.50 points. The women's soccer team advanced to the Elite 8 while the women's cross country team placed 14th at the national meet and the men's 20th.