Trinity Named No. 22 Division III Athletics Program in the Country

Tigers have appeared in the Top 25 for 17 years

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Trinity University Athletics was named the No. 22 Division III program in the country by the 2023-24 Learfield Directors’ Cup final standings, released by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. The rankings are based on how teams finish in the postseason. Eight Trinity programs finished in the top 15 nationally, including three top-10 finishes. Tiger Athletics has now earned a spot in the Top 25 nationally 17 times.
The ranking capped off a stellar 2023-24 year for Tiger Athletics. Check out the highlights below!

Trinity Women's Soccer lifts a SCAC trophy

Winner of the SCAC President’s Trophy

13th consecutive win and 24th overall for the Tigers, both new conference records

10 conference championships
17 of 18 teams in the NCAA postseason
18 of 18 teams with win percentages over .500
30 All-Americans
2 National Strength & Conditioning Association All-Americans

A Trinity football player caught mid-jump holding the football in his right hand

Putting the “Student” in Student-Athlete

Tigers hold themselves to a high standard of excellence, whether in academics or athletics. Trinity student-athletes were recognized for their work in the classroom:

52 national academic award winners
369 named to conference honor rolls (3.25 GPA or better for the semester of competition)
250 named to the Trinity Dean’s List
2 NCAA Postgraduate Scholars

Did you know that Trinity is one of the top universities in the country for NCAA Postgraduate Scholars? Each sports season, the NCAA awards up to only 42 scholarships (21 for men, 21 for women) across all athletic divisions. These $10,000 scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel both academically and athletically and are used for their postgraduate education. Trinity has had more than 28 NCAA Postgraduate Scholars in total, which is tied for No. 16 among all Division III institutions and for No. 57 among all NCAA institutions, regardless of division level.

A Trinity swimmer comes up for air while swimming

Neely Burns Wins 400 IM National Championship

Tiger swimmer Neely Burns ’26 won the 2024 NCAA Championship in the 400 individual medley. Burns is the first women’s swimmer to win the NCAA Championship at Trinity, and she is the first individual NCAA champion at Trinity since 2014. Her championship swim came with a time of 4:15.67, which beats her previous school record by nearly three seconds.

A collage of polaroid style photos of some of the Trinity men's basketball players and a portrait of Jacob Harvey in his basketball jersey.

Tigers Represent Silver-Medal-Winning Team USA

Jimmy Smith, Trinity Men’s Basketball Head Coach, and Jacob Harvey ’25, Tiger basketball player, represented their nation as coach and player, respectively, for the 2024 USA 3x3 Men’s U23 National Team.

Harvey and the rest of the USA 3x3 team competed this summer at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Nations League Americas Conference in Mexico City. Team USA qualified for the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup 2024, which took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in September.

Coach Smith was selected as the head coach of the 2024 USA 3x3 Men’s U23 National Team in Mongolia, where the team excelled in pool play, beating Chile, Lithuania, Kenya, and Latvia. With an impressive 4-0 record, the USA advanced to the quarterfinals to face China. Team USA secured a 21-11 victory and went on to the semifinals, narrowly edging out Spain with a 21-19 win. However, they fell short in the finals, losing to Germany 21-13. Coach Smith and Team USA left Mongolia with a silver medal.