ODESSA, Texas (June 15, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin Athletics finished at No. 188 with 75 points in the 2025-26 Division II Learfield Directors' Cup standings. It is the second-best finish in the final standings in UTPB history, and is also the second-most points in school history. It is also only the second time ever UTPB has finished in the top-200.

UTPB earned 70 points for a fifth-place finish from football in the Fall, and added five points for a 69th-place finish from men's golf in the Spring.

"This is a tremendous achievement, and I look forward to building on this momentum as a department moving forward," said UTPB's Vice President for Athletics, Scott Larson.

The 2025 UTPB football team earned the first two playoff wins in program history and advanced to the Super Region Final, setting a new program record for wins in one season (11-3). The Falcons finished the year 4-2 against nationally-ranked opponents (all top-15), and were the only team in the country with three wins over teams ranked in the top-five. Their ranked wins included a 34-14 victory over the No. 5-ranked University of Central Oklahoma, a 28-14 win at No. 5-ranked Angelo State University in the ESPN NCAA Division II Game of the Week, a 37-24 victory at No. 4-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo (Nov. 22) in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs (representing the highest nationally-ranked win in program history), and a 21-15 comeback win on the road in overtime in the second round at No. 15-ranked Western Colorado University.

UTPB football fell in the 2025 NCAA Division II Football Championship Super Region 4 Final with a 34-28 loss at No. 2-ranked Harding University. In the end, the Falcon football team became the first UTPB athletic program to advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division II era. UTPB also ended the season as the No. 3 nationally-ranked team in the country in the D2Football.com End of Season Top 25 Poll. UTPB's No. 3 ranking was a new program record for the highest national ranking in program history after UTPB ranked as high as No. 4 in the D2Football.com Poll following its 5-0 start to the season. It was also the highest national ranking in school history for any sport.

The 2025-26 UTPB men's golf team tied for first in school history for most tournaments won in a single season (2), tied the program single-round record (273) and broke the three-round record (835) by eight strokes, and tied the highest national ranking in program history after ranking as high as No. 11 in the country and second in the South Central Region in the National Collegiate Golf Rankings (Clippd Scoreboard rankings) in late-October. UTPB finished the season ranked No. 30 in NCAA Division II and No. 7 in the South Central Region in the Clippd Scoreboard rankings.

The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.
 
Previous years:
Year        Position                                           Points
16-17     248                                                     25
17-18     211                                                     64
18-19     225                                                     50
19-20     Not contested due to COVID
20-21     Not contested due to COVID
21-22     249                                                     22
22-23     211                                                     58
23-24     76                                                       248.5
24-25     221                                                     50
25-26     188                                                     75