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UGA finishes in seventh in LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup National All-Sports Standings

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

MBB: Georgia will face Florida State on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 9:15 p.m. ET in Tallahassee as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge

Georgia will face Florida State on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 9:15 p.m. ET in Tallahassee as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. ESPN announced the matchups for the first-ever event featuring each school’s men’s and women’s basketball programs on Wednesday. The television network designation for the game will be announced at a later date.

This year’s meeting will be the 30th all-time between the Bulldogs and the Seminoles but the first since the 1981-82 campaign. Florida State owns a 19-10 advantage in the series, including a 9-3 edge in Tallahassee. 

The programs share a strong bond with former coach Hugh Durham, who was a standout guard at Florida State before becoming the Seminoles’ head coach in 1966. He was 229-96 over 12 seasons and led Florida State to three NCAA Tournaments, including a runner-up finish in 1972. Durham became Georgia’s head coach in 1979 and compiled a 297-215 record in 17 seasons. He led the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1983, which culminated with a trip to the Final Four in Albuquerque. 

With the addition of the Seminoles, the Bulldogs will now play four Atlantic Coast Conference opponents in non-conference play during the 2023-24 campaign. Georgia will host Georgia Tech and Wake Forest in previously scheduled matchups. Last week, it was announced that the Bulldogs will face Miami in the opening round of the Baha Mar Bahamas Championship on Nov. 17.

The Bulldogs are entering their second season under head coach Mike White. Last season, Georgia finished 16-16, a 10-game improvement in the win column over the 2021-22 season. The Bulldogs’ double-digit increase in victories equaled the second-most in regular-season play among all Power 5 programs.

Georgia’s 2023-24 roster will feature a mix of six returnees, five transfers and five freshmen. The Bulldogs are one of only two programs nationally with both their transfer and freshman classes ranked among the top-20 nationally by On3Sports.com. The transfer class has been ranked as high as No. 11 by On3Sports.com, and the freshman class’ highest ranking is No. 15 by 247Sports.com.

WBB: SEC announced on Wednesday that Georgia will host Duke on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. as part of the ACC-SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge

Final TV designations, as well as Georgia’s full schedule, will be announced at a later date. 

This year’s meeting will mark the fifth all-time matchup and first regular season contest between the Lady Bulldogs and Blue Devils, with the last coming in the 2018 NCAA Tournament in Athens. Duke owns a 4-0 lead in the all-time series. 

Georgia is in its second season under the leadership of head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. The 2023 Atlanta Tip-Off Club Whack Hyder Coach of the Year led Georgia to its most wins in five years and its first victory over a Power-5 team in the NCAA tournament in 10 seasons with a 22-12 overall record. Georgia returns nine players off last year’s team and adds four newcomers to this season’s roster. 

WBB: Home/Away Schedule

The Southeastern Conference has announced home and away opponents for the upcoming 2023-24 Georgia women’s basketball league schedule. 

The 16-game slate features home games against Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt as well as away contests at Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. 

Georgia plays two games — one home and one away — against designated rival Florida each season. As part of this year’s rotation, the Lady Bulldogs also play a home and away series against Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. 

The 2023-24 season marks the 15th year of the 16-game schedule for SEC women’s basketball and the 12th with 14 teams. Georgia’s full schedule as well as dates, times and television designations will be announced at a later date. 

Georgia is in its second season under the leadership of head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. The 2023 Atlanta Tip-Off Club Whack Hyder Coach of the Year led Georgia to its most wins in five years and its first victory over a Power-5 team in the NCAA tournament in 10 seasons with a 22-12 overall record. Georgia returns nine players off last year’s team and adds four newcomers to this season’s roster. 

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