Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 136 NCAA team championships, the most of any university. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 48 consecutive years, starting in 1976–77 and continuing through 2023–24. Through June 2024, Stanford athletes have won 554 individual NCAA titles.
Stanford Cardinal
Pac-12 Conference (primary)
America East (field hockey)
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (men's gymnastics, men's volleyball, water polo, fencing)
PCCSC (sailing)
CSA (women's squash)
36 (15 men’s, 19 women’s, 2 co-ed)
Stanford Tree (unofficial)
Cardinal[1]
- "Come Join The Band" (official)
- "All Right Now" (de facto)
Cardinal and white[2]
Stanford has won 26 of the 30 NACDA Directors' Cups, awarded annually to the most successful overall college sports program in the nation, including 25 consecutive Cups from 1994–95 through 2018–19. 177 Stanford-affiliated athletes have won a total of 296 Summer Olympic medals (150 gold, 79 silver, 67 bronze), including 26 medals at the 2020 Tokyo games.[3][4]
Stanford's teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college football) level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, along with other schools from the western third of the United States.
Stanford will join the Atlantic Coast Conference at the start of the 2024–25 academic year. [5]
Directors' Cups[edit]
Stanford won the NACDA Directors' Cup in 25 consecutive academic years, from 1994–95 through 2018–19, and won again in 2022–2023. Stanford was the runner-up the other years the Directors'Cup has been awarded: 1993–94, 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2023–24.
The Directors' Cup recognizes the most successful overall sports program in NCAA Division I.[59] It is awarded annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). The Directors' Cup rewards broad-based success in both men's and women's college sports. Points are awarded based on post-season success in NCAA-sponsored sports.[60]
Stanford finished second in the first Directors' Cup competition in 1993–94, behind North Carolina. Stanford won its first Directors' Cup the following year, 1994–95. From 1994–95 through 2018–19, Stanford won 25 Directors' Cups in a row. When the Directors' Cup was next awarded, in 2020–21, Stanford finished second, behind Texas.[61]
Olympics representation[edit]
Stanford athletes have traditionally been very well represented at the Summer Olympics.[62] 175 Stanford-affiliated athletes have won a total of 296 Summer Olympic medals (150 gold, 79 silver, 67 bronze). In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Stanford sent 47 current or former student athletes, 32 of whom competed for the United States, 14 for other countries, and one as a coach for the United States softball team.[63] In all, Stanford athletes won 25 medals:[64] For the 2012 London Olympics, 39 athletes were from Stanford and 26 represented Team USA.[65] Stanford athletes won 27 medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games and 26 medals at the 2020 Tokyo games.[66]
Stanford does not compete at the varsity level in any events contested at the Winter Olympics. Stanford students and alums who have won Winter Olympic medals include John Coyle, Eileen Gu, Eric Heiden, Sami Jo Small, and Debi Thomas.
