Notre Dame Sixth In Sears Directors’ Cup
Irish up four spots in all-sports competition.

April 16, 2002

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame has jumped four spots to sixth place in the second set of winter sports standings released in the 2001-02 Sears Directors’ Cup all-sports competition.

The latest standings include NCAA winter competition in men’s and women’s basketball, fencing, women’s hockey, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s wrestling, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, rifle and skiing.

Notre Dame has earned 300.5 winter points from a 21st-place finish in men’s indoor track (62.5 points), a 34th-place finish in women’s indoor track (49 points), NCAA second-round appearances in men’s and women’s basketball (30 points each), its 19th-place NCAA finish in women’s swimming (49) and its third-place finish in fencing (80).

Fall NCAA competition earned the Irish 171 points based on their sixth-place finish in men’s cross country (68), their 19th-place finish in women’s cross country (33 points), their advancement to the second round of the NCAAs in women’s soccer (30 points) and their first-round NCAA participation in both volleyball and men’s soccer (20 points each).

Notre Dame and Stanford were the only schools to score in each of five traditional fall Olympic sports – men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

Stanford (1,004 points) leads the competition thanks to its NCAA championships in men’s water polo and women’s volleyball and its second-place finishes in men’s cross country and men’s swimming. Second is North Carolina (’01 NCAA men’s soccer champion and women’s soccer runnerup), followed by Texas (’02 men’s swimming champion), Colorado (’01 men’s cross country champion, ’02 skiing runnerup) and Florida.

The current standings also include results from NCAA fall competition in women’s volleyball, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s water polo, Division I-A and I-AA football, and men’s and women’s cross country.

In previous years in which the Sears Directors’ Cup competition has been held, Notre Dame has finished 11th in 1993-94, 30th in 1994-95, 11th in 1995-96, 14th in 1996-97, tied for 31st in 1997-98, 25th in 1998-99, 21st in 1999-2000 – and 11th again in 2000-01.

Here are the current standings:
1. Stanford 1004, 2. North Carolina 680.5, 3. Texas 568.5, 4. Colorado 541, 5. Florida 537, 6. Notre Dame 471.5, 7. Penn State 470, 8. Indiana 467, 9. UCLA 462, 10. BYU 456.5.