Following the conclusion of the 2025-26 athletic calendar, the Emory University Eagles finished fourth overall in the Learfield Directors' Cup race as the organization, along with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), released the final tally for all divisions Tuesday afternoon in conjunction with the national conventions held this week at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Eagles climbed four spots from the winter in the final standings following a spring in which seven programs qualified for their respective postseasons. Emory, as a department, scored 1,066 points to earn its 25^th top 10 showing across the 29-year history of the Directors' Cup, including the University's fourth consecutive showing inside the top five. The 2025-26 slate marked the Eagles' third straight year eclipsing 1,000 points with the 2025-26 total marking Emory's second-highest total ever after Emory's 2024-25's mark of 1,198.75 points that resulted in the school's first-ever Directors' Cup title.

The women's golf program excelled for the Eagles in the spring, securing 100 points thanks to its second straight national championship and third overall over the past five years. Men's golf netted 69 points by taking ninth place at the NCAA Championships and was followed by men's tennis (5^th, 73 points), women's tennis (9^th, 64 points), softball (17^th, 50 points), women's track & field (22^nd, 52 points) and men's outdoor track & field (24^th, 46 points).

Sixteen of Emory's 19 varsity programs registered points on the Directors' Cup scale during the 2025-26 season with women's golf leading the way and were joined at the top of the scoring ledger with national runner-up runs from women's soccer, women's swimming & diving and men's basketball as well as a Final Four appearance from men's soccer and a fifth place effort by men's swimming & diving.

Emory was one of four University Athletic Association institutions inside the top seven out of the field of 317 Division III programs in the final standings with the conference bolstering five schools inside the top 16.

Fellow UAA member, WashU, was honored as the 2025-26 Division III Directors' Cup champions with 1,266.50 points followed by Tufts University (1,252.50), Johns Hopkins (1,180), Emory and Williams (1,063.75) in the overall top five with additional UAA foes UChicago (1,045.50) and New York University (1,029.25) finishing in the sixth and seventh spots, respectively.

The Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today with points being awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.  Overall, 18 sports are counted in the final DIII standings, four of which must be men's and women's soccer and men's and women's basketball. The next highest (14 max.) sports scored for each institution, regardless of gender, are used in the standings. Learfield has been the title sponsor for the award since 2008.