Why 2021-22 Notre Dame athletics enjoyed one of its best years in history

The final results are tallied. The 2021-22 sports season is complete. And for Notre Dame’s part, it enjoyed one of its best athletics years in school history. 

Highlighted by seven top-10 finishes in the final polls or NCAA Championships, Notre Dame secured the 2021-22 Men’s Capital One Cup championship, edging out Texas 78-73.

The Capital One Cup is two separately scored competitions — one for men’s varsity sports, the other for the women’s teams — among all colleges and universities that collectively measure the performance of all programs during each academic year. It was created 12 years ago. 

Georgia was third (72), Michigan fourth (65), and Clemson fifth (60). 

This was the second time (2013-14) the Irish have claimed the Cup title on the men’s side. 

“So proud of the work our student-athletes have put in to come out on top,” Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick tweeted. “This is an amazing honor for them, our coaches, our staff and the University.”

With the Cup title, the Notre Dame men joined Stanford, Florida and Virginia as the only four schools to win the competition multiple times. Stanford leads all schools with three titles.

“Two men’s trophies in nine years is a great feat,” Swarbrick added. 

As the champion, the Notre Dame athletic department will receive a $250,000 donation towards its Student-Athlete Scholarship fund. 

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Here’s how the Notre Dame men reached 78 points and a second Cup title.

*Soccer — No. 4 final ranking in the national poll (24 points)

*Baseball — No. 5 final ranking in the national poll (18)

*Lacrosse — No. 6 final ranking in the national poll (15)

*Fencing — Co-ed National Championship (10)

*Football — No. 9 final ranking in the national poll (6)

*Hockey — No. 8 final ranking in the national poll (3)

*Cross Country — Ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championship meet (2)

Texas won the women’s  Capital One Cup title. Notre Dame finished 39th.

All-sport year in review

The obvious lede when recapping the academic sports season this time last year was how Notre Dame survived and thrived in 2020-21 under a COVID-19 cloud that disrupted each of its sports programs. 

With crowds back inside arenas and stadiums last year, and pandemic protocols eased, 2021-22 was a welcome return to normal for both Irish fans and student-athletes. The school year also brought one of the best all-around showings in Notre Dame athletics history. 

Highlighted by a second straight national championship in fencing, the first run in 20 years to the College World Series in baseball, a fifth straight football season with at least 10 victories, a 40-win softball season, two top-10 national finishes in men’s and women’s cross country, a top-five final national ranking for men’s soccer and so much more, Notre Dame landed eighth in the final 2021-22 Directors’ Cup Standings. 

It was the third-best finish for Notre Dame in 29 years of Directors’ Cup competition and the best Cup finish since the Irish placed third in 2013-14.

The Directors Cup is an annual scoring competition among schools that combines the fortunes of all men’s and women’s athletic teams and collectively scores their performances each academic year. 

Texas finished first. Stanford was second and Michigan was third.

*An impressive fifth-place finish for the Irish women runners, along with a disappointing but still strong ninth-place run for the men last November at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships, both anchored a strong start in the fall for the Notre Dame athletics year. 

*A return to the NCAA Tournament for both the Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball teams, along with a second-straight and a fourth national fencing title in the last five championships, kept the positive momentum rolling through the winter. 

*The terrific softball and baseball seasons and a run to the NCAA Tournament by the women’s lacrosse team in the spring all provided Notre Dame with only its fourth top-10 finish in Directors’ Cup history, and its first since 2014-15.