Dec. 19, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame stands fourth in the second 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 229 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 appearance in men’s soccer (50 points).
Yet to come are fall points for Notre Dame’s 2002 NCAA involvement in volleyball (the Irish advanced to the second round and 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 third set of fall standings will be released Jan. 2 and the final fall standings will be available Jan. 9.
Stanford (353 points) leads the competition thanks to its NCAA championship in men’s cross country and its second-place finishes in women’s cross country and men’s soccer. Second is Wake Forest (’02 NCAA field hockey champion), followed by Penn State, Notre Dame and Michigan.
The current standings include results from NCAA fall competition in 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 353, 2. Wake Forest 277, 3. Penn State 269, 4. Notre Dame 229, 5. Michigan 209, 6. Maryland 193, 7. William & Mary 189, 8. UCLA 187, 9. (tie) Wisconsin 176, 9. (tie) Michigan State 176, 11. Connecticut 171, 12. BYU 167, 13. North Carolina 165, 14. Colorado 155, 15. Portland 150.