Texas Longhorns infielders Viviana Martinez (23) and Jaycie Nichols (24) celebrate winning game two of the NCAA Women?s College World Series against Texas Tech at Devon Park on Thursday, June 4, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Texas Longhorns center Kyla Oldacre (00) pours confetti on head coach Vic Schaefer after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Texas fans cheer during the Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship held at Georgia Tech Aquatic Center on March 28, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jonathan Bachman/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The University of Texas Longhorns team celebrate during the Division I Women’s Rowing Championship held at Lake Lanier Olympic Park on May 30, 2026 in Gainesville, Georgia.
Steve Nowland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
OMAHA, Neb. — Same old, same old.
Texas has clinched the NACDA Learfield Directors’ Cup emblematic of the best athletic department in all of college sports.
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The Longhorns captured the Directors’ Cup for the third consecutive school year and the fifth time in six years to brand them as the pre-eminent college sports leader. Or re-brand.
SOFTBALL: Reflections on a second title.
Edrick Floreal’s men’s track and field team grabbed 10 points to tie for 26th in the team standings in Eugene, Ore., Friday on the back of Kendrick Smallwood’s historic silver-medal finish in the 110-meter hurdles and Kelsey Daniel’s seventh-place performance in the triple jump.
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Their showings raised Texas’ overall total to 1,291.5 points and put the Longhorns beyond the reach of Stanford, which trailed with 1,289.5 points but had just two female athletes qualified in the NCAA track and field championships.
Then on Saturday, Texas got a silver-medal finish from Amelia Birdow in the 400-meter hurdles as part of the squad that finished tied for 20th in the team standings with 13 points to confirm the Longhorns’ position at the top athletic department.
The hardware keeps coming. If anything, Texas needs bigger trophy cases.
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Especially after Texas won three more national championships in softball, rowing and men’s swimming and diving to raise the school’s total of NCAA championships to 71 and Del Conte’s personal total at Texas to 18 since he took over the department in December 2017.
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“For an athletic director,” Del Conte told the Houston Chronicle, “this is like our national championship. It’s a true reflection of the depth and breadth of our athletic program.”
Texas also completed its second year in the SEC with six conference regular-season or postseason titles in men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, softball and women’s basketball. Combined with the eight overall championships in 2024-2025, the Longhorns have totaled an SEC-high 14 titles in just two years.
The accomplishment is even more impressive, given the Texas football team didn’t even reach the College Football Playoff despite three wins over top 10 teams and a strong, ultimate 10-3 record that included a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan.
Even more remarkable since the men’s basketball team barely made the NCAA Tournament field as one of the last three at-large picks, but then embarked on an outstanding journey that included a spot in the Sweet 16 under first-year head coach Sean Miller and that brought them within seconds of reaching the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons.
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The list of achievements at Texas this academic school year are long.
Bruce Berque’s men’s tennis team was a national runner-up. Vic Schaefer’s women’s basketball team won the SEC Tournament and tied for third nationally after reaching the Final Four for the second consecutive year.
Carol Capitani’s women’s swimming and diving team and Stein Metzger’s beach volleyball squad also had second-place finishes on the national level.
Earning fifth-place finishes were Jerritt Elliott’s volleyball team, John Field’s men’s golf team and Laura Ianello’s women’s golf squad led by national Player of the Year Farah O’Keefe and fellow All-Americans Cindy Hsu and Lauren Kim.
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“This is a tribute to our coaches and athletes who put in all the work,” Del Conte said. “When you are united in a common goal, great things like this happen.”
And he couldn’t help but add a disclaimer.
“And we would have won sixth year in a row if geese hadn’t hit our rowing boat in the middle of the (finals) competition,” he said. “That is pretty awesome.”
Oh, and Jim Schlossnagle’s baseball team is still playing. Not well, as Texas fell in its opening game with a mistake-riddled 7-1 loss to third seed and SEC champion Georgia. But still alive as one of an NCAA-record five SEC teams at the College World Series with a Monday date with Alabama in an elimination game.