The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has recognized the University of Florida as being among the top ten NCAA Division I athletic programs in the country every year since 1983–84. The 2011–12 academic year marked the Gators' twenty-ninth consecutive year among the nation's top ten best overall collegiate athletic programs. Only one other Division I athletic program has matched that feat, and Florida has achieved this record while fielding fewer sports teams than many of the other perennially top-ranked collegiate athletic programs. In the initial twenty-nine years of the NACDA Directors' Cup, the Gators have finished fifth or better in twenty years, and have never finished lower than ninth, a claim only Stanford University's athletic program can better.
