Dec. 13, 2001

The University of Notre Dame stands 10th in the second set of fall sports standings released in the 2001-02 Sears Directors’ Cup all-sports competition.

Fall NCAA competition so far has earned the Irish 131 points based on their sixth-place finish in men’s cross country (68), their 19th-place finish in women’s cross country (33 points) and their advancement to the second round of the NCAAs in women’s soccer (30 points). Yet to come are fall points for Notre Dame’s 2001 NCAA involvement in volleyball and men’s soccer (the Irish fell in the first round in both sports).

The next set of fall standings will be released Dec. 27 and the final fall standings will be available Jan. 8.

Stanford (311 points) leads the competition thanks to its NCAA championship in men’s water polo and its second-place finish in men’s cross country. Second is Michigan (’01 NCAA field hockey champion), followed by BYU (the ’01 NCAA women’s cross country champion), North Carolina and Colorado (men’s cross country champion).

The current standings include results from NCAA fall competition in field hockey, women’s soccer, men’s water polo, 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 311, 2. Michigan 183, 3. BYU 180, 4. North Carolina 175, 5. Colorado 162, 6. UCLA 161, 7. Virginia 159, 8. North Carolina State 149, 9. Portland 140, 10. Notre Dame 131, 11. Wake Forest 128, 12. Michigan State 127, 13. Northern Arizona 125, 14. Georgetown 121, 15. Villanova 120.