For the second time in the past three seasons, the University of South Florida finished seventh among the eight Big East football members in the final standings for the 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup.

The Directors’ Cup is an accumulation of points from each men’s and women’s team based on how far a team progresses in NCAA Tournament play in each sport except football. Football teams are awarded points by their final BCS ranking or if a non-ranked team qualifies for a bowl game. Schools can gain points from 20 total varsity teams – 10 men’s sports and 10 women’s sports.

Louisville led the Big East schools this past school year and ranked 32nd nationally with 625.5 points. USF was seventh in the Big East and 116th overall with 143 points.

Here’s how the Big East schools ranked in the 2008-09 Directors’ Cup
Natl rank School points
32. Louisville 625.5
50. West Virginia 442.5
52. Connecticut 402
63. Syracuse 330
92. Rutgers 198.5
93. Pittsburgh 198
116. South Florida 143
129. Cincinnati 131

And since we’re four years into the “new” Big East, I thought I would take a look at how the league teams ranked in that time frame. Louisville has been the league’s most successful athletics program followed by West Virginia. USF ranks a disappointing seventh, only above Cincinnati, which despite a Big East football title last season, ranks as one of the nation’s worst athletic programs based on NCAA postseason success.

Here’s a look at the cumulative point totals for each of the Big East’s eight football members. Year-by-year standings are available at NACDA.com.

Directors Cup 2006-09 cumulative points
1. Louisville 2219
2. West Virginia 1788.83
3. UConn 1333.5
4. Rutgers 931.83
5. Pittsburgh 887.5
6. Syracuse 792.25
7. South Florida 640.5
8. Cincinnati 281