BYU NewsNet - BYU Claims 26th Place in Director's Cup

BYU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

BYU has earned a 26th-place finish in the final U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings released Monday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

With 14 teams earning conference regular-season and/or tournament titles and 17 advancing to postseason competition, the Cougars earned their highest Director's Cup finish since 2001.

"We had a great overall season as a department," said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. "This is really a tribute to the hard work of our athletes, coaches and staff. We look forward to continued success in the upcoming year."

The annual rankings rate the overall success of 289 of the nation's NCAA Division I athletic departments. BYU is the highest-ranked school from a non-automatic BCS-qualifying conference while beating out other perennial powers such as Nebraska (27), Louisville (28) and Washington (29).

With the Cougars leading the way, the Mountain West Conference placed four schools in the top 65 including TCU at No. 52, Utah at No. 60 and New Mexico at No. 65. Stanford won the Directors' Cup for the 13th straight year while UCLA, North Carolina, Michigan and USC rounded out the top five.

BYU finished 15th after the fall season with men's and women's cross country, football, women's volleyball and women's soccer all scoring points.

The winter standings saw the Cougars place 29th with points from men's and women's basketball, women's gymnastics, women's indoor track, and men's and women's swimming. In the spring, men's and women's golf, women's softball, women's tennis, and men's and women's outdoor track rounded out BYU's scoring teams.

The U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the NACDA and USA Today and sponsored by The United States Sports Academy. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's.

Final Standings

1. Stanford

2. UCLA

3. North Carolina

4. Michigan

5. Southern California

6. Florida

7. Tennessee

8. Texas

9. California

10. Arizona State

11. Duke

12. Georgia

13. Virginia

14. Ohio State

15. Florida State

16. Wisconsin

17. Louisiana State

18. Texas A&M

19. Auburn

20. Minnesota

21. Penn State

22. Notre Dame

23. Wake Forest

24. Arizona

25. Oklahoma

26. BYU

27. Nebraska

28. Louisville

29. Washington

30. Northwestern

MWC Finishes

26. BYU

52. TCU

60. Utah

65. New Mexico

97. UNLV

106. San Diego State

123. Colorado State

201. Air Force

T285. Wyoming