June 22, 2001
CLEVELAND -- The University of Denver athletics department scored a school-record 180 points - the most of any Sun Belt Conference school - to place 87th in the Sears Directors' Cup, presented by the nation's athletics directors to recognize the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country.
The Pioneers earned 100 points for its NCAA-record 16th skiing title, earned in March in Vermont, 60 points for the gymnastics team's first-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships in April in Athens, Ga., and 20 points for the women's basketball program's inaugural appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Denver placed 102nd with a previous high of 153 points last year after placing 74th in 1998-99, its first year in Division I.
In addition, the Pioneers' placing is behind only Colorado (27th, 499 points) and Colorado State (48th, 373.5 points) among Front Range schools. Air Force was 106th (151.5), while Wyoming was 121st (122.5). Among Sun Belt schools, Florida International amassed 130 points to place 115th.
"The fact that we have finished in the top third of all Division I programs for each of our three years as Division I members demonstrates that we can consistently put competitive teams on the field," said Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, director of athletics and recreation. "For the second time in three years, three of our teams have earned points at NCAA Championship events, and we have a few more that are right on the crest of joining them."
Stanford University continued its record Sears Cup winning streak by winning its seventh consecutive award, presented annually by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
Developed as a joint effort between USA TODAY and NACDA, the Sears Directors' Cup program is the only all-sports competition that recognizes the institution in each of the four categories with the best overall athletics program. The Sears Directors' Cup is part of the Sears Collegiate Champions program which annually awards more than 2,200 conference and sport champion trophies and $250,000 dollars in academic scholarships.
Of the 318 eligible colleges and universities in the NCAA Division I, a total of 260 (82 percent) scored points in the Sears Directors' Cup competition. NACDA, now in its 36th year, serves as the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 collegiate athletics directors, associates, assistants and conference administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
