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National team titles in men's and women's cross country, and women's tennis lead Cardinal efforts.
June 14, 2004
Dallas, Tex. - Stanford continued its record winning streak in the United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup competition for the NCAA Division I by winning its 10th consecutive award, presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), United States Sports Academy and USA TODAY to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country.
"We are extremely pleased that the student-athletes who competed for Stanford this past season were able to continue our tradition in the Directors' Cup," said Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland. "We are proud of the accomplishments of all of our teams across the board."
The 2003-04 United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup winners were announced at the NACDA Convention in Dallas, Texas, as the four winning institutions -- one in each of the NCAA Divisions (I, II, and III), and the NAIA -- were awarded their United States Sports Academy Directors' Cups. Although the Division I race will not officially conclude until late June, after the conclusion of the NCAA College World Series, Stanford has already clinched the United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup.
The Cardinal has a current total of 1337.25 points, surpassing runner-up Michigan by 111 points. Stanford won its 10th straight Directors' Cup with three national championships (women's tennis, women cross country, men's cross country) and a runner-up showing (men's swimming) leading the way.
The Cardinal placed a total of 13 teams in the nation's Top 10, including women's gymnastics and softball (third); women's basketball, women's swimming and diving, and men's tennis (fifth); women's outdoor track and field (sixth); men's gymnastics (seventh); women's volleyball (ninth); and fencing (tenth). The Cardinal recorded points in the maximum of 10 women's and 10 men's sports. Stanford averaged 67 points per sport.
Developed as a joint effort between USA TODAY and NACDA, the United States Sports Academy 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.
While Stanford won the United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup for NCAA Division I competition, the 2003-04 winners in the other categories include: Division II - Grand Valley State University (Mich.); Division III - Williams College (Mass.); and NAIA - Simon Fraser University (B.C.).
NACDA will award each of the second through fifth place institutions in all four divisions with United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup plaques, commemorating their program's dedication to athletics greatness.
Of the 327 eligible colleges and universities in the NCAA Division I, a total of 274 (84 percent) scored points in the United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup competition. Complete final rankings on all of these institutions are available on the NACDA web site.
NACDA, which is now in its 39th year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics directors, associates, assistants and conference commissioners at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. Through its series of management seminars, clinics and workshops and publication of the bi-monthly magazine Athletics Administration, NACDA offers educational opportunities to its members. More than 1,200 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, the Association operates the NACDA Directors' Cup program, which honors the all-sports champion in each of the NCAA Divisions -- I, II, III -- and the NAIA, for a total of four trophies.