ORLANDO, Fla.- The University of Indianapolis finished in fifth place among 232 NCAA Division II schools earning points in the 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings, released Friday. The Directors' Cup is annually awarded to the best overall collegiate athletics program in the country, tallying points for an institution's national finishes in up to 14 sports-- seven women's and seven men's.
UIndy's fifth-place finish matched its highest ever, equaling its ranking during the 1996-97 academic year. Indianapolis has finished in the top 18 in six of the past seven years and now has three top-ten finishes to its credit.
UIndy sports accruing points in this season's Cup standings included seven women's sports and five men's sports, with the bulk of the point total coming in the spring. Seven UIndy spring sports combined to amass a whopping 423 points for the Greyhounds. The total was boosted by top-six finishes from three Indianapolis spring squads. The women's golf team, led by individual national champion Lyndsay McBride, tied for third at the NCAA DII Championships, the Greyhound softball team made its first ever College World Series appearance and ultimately tied for fifth, and the men's golf team shared sixth place nationally with a solid performance at the NCAA finals.
Other highlights came from the women's basketball team's first ever “Sweet Sixteen” appearance, the baseball club's advancement to the Midwest Regional finals, and volleyball's second straight regional semifinal appearance. The UIndy men's and women's track and field teams racked up a total of 142.75 points during the indoor and outdoor seasons combined, men's and women's swimming each placed in the top 15, men's tennis earned its first NCAA berth since 2005-06, while the wrestling squad picked up five points from its two national qualifiers.
Despite not earning a single individual championship, Grand Valley State captured its sixth straight Division II Cup with 1014.50 total points. Minnesota State Mankato earned the runner-up spot with 800.25 points, followed by Central Missouri (776.00), Abilene Christian (721.00) and UIndy (695.00). Click here to view the final Division II standings.
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.
UIndy's 2008-09 Directors' Cup scoring breakdown
FALL Place Points
Volleyball T17th 50
FALL TOTAL - 50.00
WINTER Place Points
Women's Basketball T9th 64
Women's Swimming 11th 66
Men's Swimming 15th 45
Women's Track 30th 42
Wrestling T31st 5
WINTER TOTAL - 222.00
SPRING Place Points
Softball T5th 78
Women's golf T3rd 82.5
Women's track T15th 59.25
Men's golf T6th 72.75
Men's track T31st 41.5
Men's Tennis T33rd 25
Baseball T9th 64
SPRING TOTAL - 423.00
UIndy's best five finishes in the Directors' Cup
Year Place Points
'08-'09 5th 695.0
'96-'97 5th 390.5
'00-'01 8th 438.0
'02-'03 13th 450.5
'03-'04 14th 440.0
