The Sun Devil Athletic Department has registered its best Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standing since 2012-13 with its 19th-place finish (821 points), as it continued its jump from No. 31 last year following 43rd-place finish in 2016-17. The finish is ASU's third top-25 finish in the past decade, as it finished 18th in 2012-13 and 22nd in 2009-10.
Led by a national championship from wrestler Zahid Valencia -- who returns to Tempe in 2019-20 -- Zeke Jones' wrestling squad posted 64.5 points with its 12th-place finish, followed closely by long-time women's basketball coach Charlie Turner Thorne's Sweet Sixteen season notching 64 points.