CLEVELAND – Jax State athletics scored its best all-time finish in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup for 2023-24 during its first season as a member of Conference USA.
Since the 1993-94 season, the Directors' Cup and final standings have been awarded based on a scoring structure rewarding in-season and final season accomplishments and poll rankings.
Led by Jax State's successful FBS debut season for
Rich Rodriguez's Gamecocks capping a 9-4 season with a New Orleans Bowl victory and
Shannon O'Keefe's upstart bowling program bringing home the school's first Division I national championship, Jax State finished with its highest final ranking and most points earned in school history.
The Gamecocks scored 145 points, ranking 123rd among all 350+ Division I institutions. Both marks surpassed Jax State's previous bests of 140 points and 124th-place finish for 2015-16.
In addition to football and bowling, men's and women's golf each had individuals compete in postseason competition beyond the CUSA championships. Head Coach
Robbie Fields' women's team was invited to Golfweek's National Golf Invitation (NGI), where CUSA Freshman of the Year,
Jinger Heath, won the individual title in a playoff. On the men's side, senior
Erik Jansson earned at at-large bid into the NCAA Golf Championships for the second-straight season being selected for the Austin Regional.
Track and Field freshman
Elo Blessing Okpah also earned an invitational to NCAA Championships, competing in the East First Rounds in Lexington, Ky., for the outdoor 100-meter dash. This came after Head Coach
Jeremy Provence's men's and women's cross country teams put together their best NCAA South Region races in more than a decade last fall.
Including Heath, Jax State student-athletes won five Player of the Year Awards, five All-American distinctions, 35 CUSA All-Conference selections and 13 CUSA All-Academic selections.
Jax State's final ranking was the second-highest among Conference USA schools, only five spots behind fellow CUSA newcomer Liberty (118th). Texas finished atop the 2023-24 standings to win its third LEARFIELD Directors' Cup title.
2023-24 LEARFIELD Directors' Cup Final Standings
| Rank |
School |
Final Points |
| 118 |
Liberty |
155 |
| 123 |
Jax State |
145 |
| 139 |
Western Kentucky |
120 |
| 148 |
Sam Houston |
111 |
| 156 |
Middle Tennessee |
100 |
| 164 |
Louisiana Tech |
90 |
| 182 |
FIU |
75 |
| 262 |
New Mexico State |
25 |
| 304 |
Kennesaw State (ASUN) |
9.3 |
