CLEVELAND - By virtue of its first NCAA Skiing title since 1971 and the best women's gymnastics season in 17 years, the University of Denver athletic department is ranked No. 68 in the most recent points update for the Division I Sears Directors' Cup, presented by the nation's athletics directors.

Denver's 153 points - all earned in this winter session - ranks the Pioneers as the best of all Sun Belt Conference schools and second only to Colorado (35th, 265 points) among schools in the Front Range. Denver earned 100 points for its skiing title, earned in March in Utah, and 53 points (tie for 13th place) for nearly advancing to the Division I gymnastics championships for the first time in school history.

There are roughly 315 institutions sponsoring basketball at the Division I level, putting the Pioneers among the top 25 percent of schools in the country. Other notable schools behind Denver are Kansas (79th), UMass (80th) and Syracuse (98th). Other Front Range placings include Wyoming (87th), Air Force (129th) and Colorado State (154th).

Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 for men and 10 for women. Each national champion receives 100 points. There are four Sears Directors' Cup Awards, one to honor the institution with the best all-around athletics program in each of the NCAA's Divisions I, II and III and the NAIA. It is the first-ever cross-sectional all-sports national recognition award for both men and women.

First-place Stanford holds a 194.5-point lead over Michigan, its nearest competitor. Stanford, winners of the Sears Cup the previous five years, has scored in 10 sports and claimed the runner-up position in men's indoor track and field. Additionally, the Cardinal placed third in women's swimming, fourth in fencing and men's swimming, 11th in men's gymnastics and women's indoor track and field, 13th in women's gymnastics, 17th in women's and men's basketball and 55th in men's wrestling to record 917 points. The Sears Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. It is administered by NACDA and sponsored by Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Michigan holds onto second place with 775.5 points. Rounding out the top five are Nebraska in third with 754 points; Penn State, fourth with 753.5 points; and UCLA, fifth with 716 points.

This is the final winter standings and includes the sports of women's and men's basketball, fencing, women's and men's gymnastics, men's ice hockey, rifle, skiing, men's and women's swimming, women's and men's indoor track and field and men's wrestling. Winning national championships were Connecticut in women's basketball, Michigan State in men's basketball, Penn State in fencing and men's gymnastics, UCLA in women's gymnastics and women's track and field; Georgia in women's swimming; Texas in men's swimming; Arkansas in men's track and field; and Iowa in wrestling. The highest finish in rifle for a Division I institution was the second secured by Xavier (Ohio). The men's ice hockey championship was won by WCHA member North Dakota, a Division II institution. The highest finish for a Division I institution was second by Boston College.