CLEVELAND, Ohio (March 31, 2011) – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) released the Learfield Sports Division III Directors’ Cup standings through the winter sports seasons on Thursday, and Stevens Institute of Technology checks in at No. 12, the highest it has ever been this late in a school year. Stevens has accumulated 419.00 points, 38.50 above the highest full-year total in program history which was achieved during the 2009-10 academic year.
“Being ranked 12th in the Director’s Cup after the winter sports season is an accomplishment that reflects on the hard work and dedication of many people including student-athletes, coaches and staff," Director of Athletics Russell Rogers (Branchburg, N.J.) said. "This is something the entire Stevens community can take pride in and celebrate."
Williams College tops the rankings with 719.50 points and Middlebury College is second (664.00), while Washington University, Calvin College, and Amherst College round out the top-five. Stevens is second amongst technology-based institutions as Massachusetts Institute of Technology checks in at No. 7 with 488.50 points. Duck teams are second in the state behind The College of New Jersey which is 10th (438.25 points). Ithaca College is the only other Empire 8 school in the top-25. The Bombers are 24th with 316.00 points.
Women’s basketball earned 25 points with their Empire 8 title and appearance in the first round of NCAA’s, while wrestling earned 42 points for finishing 32nd in the nation. Men’s swimming and its 14th-place finish at nationals earned 61.5 points, and women’s swimming highlighted the winter seasons with a total of 73.5 points for taking sixth at the NCAA’s.
In the fall, field hockey earned 53 points after taking its third Empire 8 title in as many years and advancing to the Regional semifinals of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship. Men's soccer earned 50 points after reaching the second round of the tournament. Women's soccer also earned 50 points as the Ducks made the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship and reached the second round. Women’s volleyball earned an at-large berth into the NCAA’s and made the most of it in reaching the Regional final. That finish netted 74 points in the standings.
The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 14 sports - seven women’s and seven men’s - in NCAA Tournament play.
The 2010-11 athletics season marks its third year as title partner of the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. A preeminent leader in the collegiate sports marketplace for nearly 40 years, Learfield Sports manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 50 collegiate institutions, conferences and associations. The company also operates regional and statewide radio networks, having broadcast over 50,000 games and coaches’ shows since it began working with flagship property Mizzou in 1975. These ever-expanding, collegiate relationships feature strategic sponsorship platforms that include stadium/arena signage, official university publications, Internet sites, digital media, hospitality, radio and television programming as well as game-day events. To learn more about Learfield Sports, which is an operating unit of Learfield Communications, Inc., visit www.learfieldsports.com.
The first of two spring rankings will be released on May 27. The final standings come out on June 17.