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  Louisville earned four ACC Championships in 2020-21, the most in a single-season for UofL since the Cardinals joined the ACC in 2014 – women’s basketball, field hockey, men’s swimming and diving, and volleyball. Louisville ranked 40th in the nation in the final 2020-21 Learfield IMG College Director’s Cup Division I national all-sports standings. It was the 11th straight year that the Cardinals were among the top 40 teams and UofL was one of nine ACC schools in the top 40 schools in the Director’s Cup final standings. UofL Athletics finished second in the nation in the 2021 NCAA Team Works Service Challenge. In the competition which ran from Jan. 15-April 1, Cardinal student-athletes totaled 1,405 hours of service had 94 percent participation in a service opportunity during the time period. The Cardinals have ranked in the top 10 nationally in service hours for all seven years of the competition, including winning the service award twice. Cardinal sports teams achieved an impressive 3.256 combined grade point average for the 2020-21 academic year, including a 3.289 GPA for the 2021 Spring semester. Twenty of 23 sports programs were above a 3.0 collective GPA for the 2021 Spring semester. A total of 360 student-athletes were 2020 Red and Black Scholars, representing a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better. UofL student-athletes matched a record 91 percent graduation rate in the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) Report, which was developed 16 years ago to account for transfers into the university who graduate and those who leave in good academic standing. The Cardinals’ GSR, most recently reported for freshmen who entered in the 2013-14 academic year, has risen 25 percent since the reporting began 16 years ago. Men’s Swimming and Diving matched its highest-ever finish, ranking fifth in the NCAA Championship, with two National Champion performances -- Nick Albiero, the ACC Swimmer of the Year and ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year, won the 200 butterfly, while UofL’s Mitchell Whyte, Evgenii Somov, Nicolas Albiero and Haridi Sameh Kamel teamed to win the 200 medley relay title. The Cardinals’ women’s swimming and diving team finished 13th in the nation. |
|  Women’s Track & Field captured its third NCAA National Individual Champion in school history as Makenli Forrest won the NCAA indoor weight throw national title. Women’s Basketball advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, with ACC Player of the Year Dana Evans, a Honda Sport Award finalist, earning consensus first team All-America honors. The 2021 Kay Yow ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year, Evans was the 13th overall selection in the WNBA Draft. In a season that spanned the fall and spring, field hockey reached the program’s first Final Four as the nation’s No. 3 seed. Mercedes Pastor Alli Bitting and Charlie van Oirschot were named All-ACC. Meghan Schneider won the Elite 90 Award with a 4.0 GPA. Volleyball, also playing in both the fall and spring, reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second straight year with three players earning All-America accolades – Anna Stevenson, Tori Dilfer and Anna DeBeer – for ACC Coach of the Year Dani Busboom Kelly. Men’s golf tied ninth in the NCAA Championship – its best finish in school history -- after advancing to the playoff round of the national championship for its third time ever. Senior John Murphy became the first player in school history to compete in the prestigious Walker Cup. Louisville's all-girl cheerleading team won its seventh consecutive and 17th overall National Cheer Association championship and its small co-ed team won its 11th national title. Cardinal spirit groups also finished among the top four in the nation in large co-ed (third), group stunt (fourth), Ladybirds dance team (second) and Ladybirds dance team hip hop competition (second). Administratively, UofL Athletics received a record seven 7-figure donations in the 2020 calendar year, reduced its operating expenses by $25 million to mitigate revenue shortfalls during a pandemic while dramatically lowering its projected operating loss, and its marketing department named a finalist for the NACMA Marketing Team of the Year for second consecutive year. |
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Final Records and Rankings |
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| Sport | Top Poll # | Final Ranking | Overall |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball | No. 1 | -- | 28-22 | 16-16 | -- |
| Men's Basketball | No. 16 | -- | 13-7 | 8-5 | -- |
| Women's Basketball | No. 1 | No. 6 | 26-4 | 14-2 % | NCAA Elite Eight |
| Men's Cross Country | -- | -- | -- | 13th* | -- |
| Women's Cross Country | -- | -- | -- | 12th* | -- |
| Field Hockey | No. 2 | No. 3 | 14-6 | 5-1 % | NCAA Semifinals |
| Football | No. 18 | -- | 4-7 | 3-7 | -- |
| Men's Golf | No. 23 | No. 23 | -- | 9th* | NCAA Championship:Â t-9th |
| Women's Golf | No. 23 | -- | -- | 8th* | NCAA Regional: t-11th |
| Lacrosse | No. 15 | No. 25 | 5-11 | 1-9 | -- |
| Rowing | RV | RV | -- | 7th* | -- |
| Men's Soccer | -- | -- | 5-8-1 | 5-6-1 | -- |
| Women's Soccer | No. 13 | -- | 5-7-0 | 4-4-0 | -- |
| Softball | -- | -- | 21-28-1 | 15-21-1 | -- |
| Men's Swimming & Diving | No. 5 | No. 5 | -- | 1st* | NCAA Championship: 5th |
| Women's Swimming & Diving | No. 11 | No. 12 | -- | 3rd* | NCAA Championship: 13th |
| Men's Tennis | No. 49 | No. 51 | 9-12 | 3-8 | -- |
| Women's Tennis | No. 43 | No. 60 | 9-13 | 3-10 | -- |
| Men's Indoor Track & Field | -- | -- | -- | 8th* | -- |
| Women's Indoor Track & Field | -- | -- | -- | 7th* | -- |
| Men's Outdoor Track & Field | -- | -- | -- | 10th* | -- |
| Women Outdoor Track & Field | -- | -- | -- | 10th* | -- |
| Volleyball | No. 5 | No. 11 | 15-3 | 12-2 % | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
* Denotes team finish at ACC Championship
% Denotes regular season ACC Champion
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Season Superlatives |
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Season Summaries |
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Baseball
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Men's Basketball
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Women's Basketball
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Cross Country
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Field Hockey
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Football
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Men's Golf
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Women's Golf
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Lacrosse
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Rowing
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Men's Soccer
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Women's Soccer
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Softball
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Men's Swimming & Diving
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Women's Swimming & Diving
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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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Track & Field
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Volleyball
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