PISCATAWAY, N.J. (June 30, 2022) – The 2021-22 season was the best in Rutgers Athletics history as the Scarlet Knights earned a school record finish in the final LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings. RU placed 48th overall to cap a successful campaign marked by Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, NCAA Tournament berths and record-setting milestones across the board.
 
The 48th-place finish was 12 spots higher than 2020-21 when the Scarlet Knights posted their second-highest mark (60th) in the standings and six points better than the program's best-ever finish in 2006-07 at 54th.
 
"This is a proud moment for Rutgers Athletics," said Athletic Director Pat Hobbs. "Our student-athletes, coaches and staff have worked tremendously hard in the pursuit of excellence in all areas. This has been one of the most rewarding seasons for everyone connected to Rutgers Athletics. To watch what our programs have accomplished is remarkable. They continue to represent our university with great pride, excelling both in competition and in the classroom."
 
Rutgers had nine teams appear in the national rankings during the 2021-22 season, the most programs ranked during the same season in program history. The Scarlet Knights had five teams compete in Big Ten Championship games, including women's soccer which captured the school's first-ever regular season conference title and field hockey which earned the first Big Ten Tournament Championship in school history.
 
Nine programs advanced to NCAA Championship postseason, including three teams – wrestling, swimming and diving and men's track and field – with individual qualifiers for competition in their respective NCAA Championships. Football made its first bowl berth since the 2014 season with a trip to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, the sixth-oldest bowl in the nation.
 
Men's basketball played in its second-straight NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1975-76 and the Scarlet Knights became the first unranked program in NCAA history to defeat four-consecutive ranked opponents.
 
Women's soccer advanced to its 10th-straight NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 1 seed and a trip to the College Cup for the second time and first since 2015. The team played a 10-0 undefeated regular season to secure the regular season Big Ten title. Field hockey earned the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big Ten Tournament Championship in a season that saw a school record 19 wins, including 13 victories over ranked opponents.
 
Wrestling finished the dual season with 16 victories, its most in a season since the 2012-13 campaign. The program sent seven Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Championships, earning a bronze-medal individual finish at 141-pounds.
 
Men's lacrosse advanced to its first NCAA Final Four in program history, becoming the first men's team to do so since men's soccer in 1994. The squad established a program record with 15 wins, six over ranked opponents and three top-10 wins. Women's lacrosse made its second-straight NCAA Tournament and advanced to its first Big Ten Championship game in program history. The team recorded a program-record 16 wins, including six over ranked opponents.
 
Rowing competed in its third-straight NCAA Tournament, capping a season that saw the program set a record with six medals at the Big Ten Championships and its first gold medal at the conference meet. Track and field earned three podium finishes at the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in a season that saw 17 school records set by both the men's and women's squads.
 
About the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup
The Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org.

About Rutgers
The Rutgers Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (Rutgers Athletics), comprised of 24 men's and women's varsity sports serving more than 730 student-athletes, is a member of the Big Ten Conference and governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Rutgers is the Birthplace of College Football, hosting the first-ever collegiate matchup on Nov. 6, 1869, a 6-4 victory over Princeton. Rutgers Athletics is uniquely positioned in the nation's largest media market with over seven million television households, along with access to Big Ten Network and its nearly 60 million homes across the U.S. and Canada. Established in 1766, Rutgers University is the State University of New Jersey and eighth-oldest higher education institution in the country. As a premier academic institution, Rutgers is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest news and updates. Also visit ScarletKnights.com for additional information on Rutgers Athletics.