June 26, 2002

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame achieved its seventh top 25 finish in the nine-year history of the Sears Directors’ Cup all-sports competition, finishing 13th in the final standings for 2001-02.

Notre Dame scored 335 spring points thanks to NCAA appearances in baseball (60 points based on its College World Series appearance), women’s lacrosse (40 points based on quarterfinal appearance), men’s tennis (50 points based on final 16 appearance), women’s tennis (20 points based on first-round play), softball (50 points from regional runnerup finish), men’s outdoor track (58.5 from 24th-place finish) and women’s outdoor track (56.5 from 27th-place finish).

The final standings include NCAA spring sports results in men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, women’s water polo, women’s rowing, baseball, softball and men’s volleyball.

Notre Dame 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 points), their 19th-place finish in women’s cross country (33), their advancement to the second round of the NCAAs in women’s soccer (30) and their first-round NCAA participation in both volleyball and men’s soccer (20 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. Those two schools also were the two highest-ranked private institutions in the final standings.

Stanford (1,499 points) won the competition thanks to its NCAA championships in men’s water polo, women’s water polo, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball and its second-place finishes in men’s cross country and men’s swimming.

Standings 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 – as well as NCAA winter competition in men’s and women’s basketball, fencing, men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s wrestling, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s gymnastics, rifle and skiing.

Due to a change in the scoring structure for 2001-02, Notre Dame for the first time this year earned points from both indoor and outdoor track for men and women. The previous format called for schools to receive only the higher point total from either indoor or outdoor track. Irish coach Joe Piane’s cross country and track teams combined to earn 327.5 of Notre Dame’s 806.5 total points this year – 33 points from women’s cross country, 49 from women’s indoor track, 56.5 from women’s outdoor track, 68 from men’s cross country, 62.5 from men’s indoor track and 58.5 from men’s outdoor track.

In previous years in which the Sears Directors’ Cup competition has been held, Notre Dame 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 final standings for 2001-02:

1. Stanford 1499
2. Texas 1110.5
3. Florida 1078
4. North Carolina 1065.5
5. UCLA 1026
6. Michigan 917
7. Minnesota 886.5
8. Georgia 865
9. Arizona 852
10. LSU 842.5
11. South Carolina 828.5
12. Tennessee 821
13. Notre Dame 806.5
14. Ohio State 778.5
15. (tie) Arizona State and USC 767.5 each
17. Oklahoma 760.5
18. Colorado 751.5
19. Auburn 738.5
20. California 738.