July 3, 2008

By Denis Griffin

The Cardinal came out on top yet again in the annual quest for the Directors’ Cup, awarded by the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors of America, the United States Sports Academy and USA Today to the best overall intercollegiate athletic program in the country.

Stanford earned 1,461.00 total points in the final rankings, nearly 300 points better than its nearest competition, UCLA. Stanford boasted an impressive 12 top-five finishes in various sports, including a national championship in women’s cross country and second place finishes in women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s gymnastics and men’s golf.

Stanford teams tallied 315 points for the fall, 767 points for the winter and 468 points for the spring.

Points are earned based upon how well individual teams finish, but only 20 scores in total can be added together for the final point total — 10 each for men’s and women’s athletics.

The Cardinal finished second behind North Carolina in the first-ever presentation of the Directors’ Cup for the 1993-94 school year, but has been unbeatable since, winning the award for 14 consecutive years. UCLA has finished second six times since the award’s inception, including each of the past three years as well as the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 school years.

http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2008/7/3/stanfordWins14thConsecutiveUsSportsAcademyDirectorsCup

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=833210&forum_id=1#9957542)