The UNC football team’s underwhelming season captured a lot of the headlines this fall. While this isn’t really surprising — having a coach with six Super Bowl wins lead a college program to a 4-8 season kind of writes its own headlines — it did obscure that fact that overall, UNC fall sports had a good year.
Indiana’s win over Miami in the FBS national championship game marks the end of the fall sports season. The Learfield Directors’ Cup standings were updated after the game and UNC is currently in first place out of all division one schools. The Directors’ Cup is a contest in which each school is assigned points based on where each of the school’s teams finishes after postseason play; for example, winning a national championship is worth 100 points. Finishing second will get you 90 points. All sports — and both women’s and men’s sports — are weighted evenly. The final standings are a good indicator of how strong a school’s athletic department is overall.
UNC’s current first place standing is a bit surprising considering the Heels don’t yet have any championship game appearances in the 2025-2026 season. Their score was bolstered by good finishes from the women’s field hockey team (3rd), women’s soccer (tied for 9th), and women’s cross-country team (11th). The Heels have accrued a total of 359 points; the second-place team is Stanford, with 346.5. Theres a bit of a drop off after that, with Virginia in third with 281. The ACC is well represented in the standings, currently claiming the top three spots and eight of the top 16 rankings.
Last year UNC finished fourth overall in the standings. It was the Heels best showing in the competition in 16 years. Several winter and spring sports could help Carolina match or beat that placement. The men’s basketball team looks capable of getting past the round of 64, and the Diamond Heels are also projected to have a good season. While the football program may be down, it’s clearly still a great day to be a Tar Heel fan.
