Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546068
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2026 67 BY TODD D. BURLAGE O n the strength of two fencing national championships, one for the Irish men and one for the Irish women, a national runner-up finish for men's lacrosse and some solid work from other Irish sports programs, Notre Dame showed some marked improvement in 2025-26 from its overall athletic performance in 2024-25. Notre Dame finished 19th in the Di- rectors' Cup standings in 2025-26, a 16-place jump from 2024-25 when it muddled through a 35th-place finish in the annual competition, its worst rank- ing in at least 30 years. The Directors' Cup compiles results from all varsity sports, attaches a score to each of those based mainly on post- season results and combines the scores to rank overall athletic achievement for every school in the country. With the overall Irish athletics per- formance as a backdrop, let's revisit the top five storylines from the 2025-26 athletic and scholastic year. FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SNUB Given the difficult circumstances surrounding Notre Dame football last year, the 2025 season might be remem- bered as the one that was taken away, rather than the one that slipped away. The Irish started the 2025 season 0-2 2025-26 DIRECTORS' CUP FINAL STANDINGS Rk. School Points 1. Texas 1,322.00 2. Stanford* 1,263.50 3. UCLA 1,199.25 4. North Carolina* 1,166.75 5. Virginia* 1,148.75 6. Florida 1,104.50 7. Southern Cal 1,095.50 8. Georgia 1,081.25 9. Michigan 1,076.75 10. Ohio State 1,071.25 11. Duke* 1,039.25 19. Notre Dame* 898.50 22. NC State* 860.00 29. Louisville* 711.50 39. California* 653.75 41. Florida State* 604.00 42. Clemson* 601.50 54. Wake Forest* 505.75 55. Virginia Tech* 470.50 57. Miami (Fla.)* 452.00 59. Syracuse* 447.00 64. SMU* 406.50 83. Boston College* 276.00 84. Pittsburgh* 267.75 90. Georgia Tech* 233.00 * ACC schools MOVIN' ON UP The 2025-26 Irish athletics year marked an uptick in performance for Notre Dame The Irish men's (above) and women's fencing squads captured national championships for Notre Dame this past year. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS