Jan. 3, 2003

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame stands third in the third set of fall sports standings released in the 2002-03 Division I NACDA Directors’ Cup all-sports competition sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (formerly known as Sears Directors’ Cup).

This marks the highest ranking for Notre Dame since the Irish were third in the ’96-’97 final fall standings (Notre Dame ended up 14th overall that year).

Fall NCAA competition so far has earned the Irish 279 points based on their third-place finish in women’s cross country (85 points, highest total ever in that sport for the Irish), their 22nd-place finish in men’s cross country (30 points), their third-round appearance in women’s soccer (64 points) and their second-round appearances in men’s soccer and volleyball (50 points each).

Yet to come are fall points for Notre Dame’s 2002 involvement in football (the Irish finished the regular season 12th in the USA Today/ESPN poll and presumably will remain somewhere in the top 25 after their appearance in the Gator Bowl).

Notre Dame is the only school in the country to make postseason appearances in all six of those sports during the fall 2002 season.

The final fall standings will be available Jan. 9.

Stanford (443 points) leads the competition thanks to its NCAA championship in men’s cross country and its second-place finishes in volleyball, women’s cross country and men’s soccer. Second is Penn State, followed by Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Michigan State.

The current standings include results from NCAA fall competition in volleyball, field hockey, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s and women’s soccer.

In previous years in which the 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, 11th in 2000-01 and 13th in 2001-02.

Here are the current standings:

1.Stanford 443, 2.Penn State 319, 3.Notre Dame 279, 4.Wake Forest 277, 5.Michigan State 240, 6.UCLA 237, 7.Michigan 234, 8.North Carolina 229, 9.Villanova 228, 10.Wisconsin 226, 11.Maryland 193, 12.(tie) California and William & Mary 189, 14.Connecticut 171, 15.BYU 167.