Providence College Athletics

FRIARS RANKED 55TH IN THE UNITED STATES SPORTS ACADEMY DIRECTORS' CUP STANDINGS AFTER WINTER SEASON

FRIARS RANKED 55TH IN THE UNITED STATES SPORTS ACADEMY DIRECTORS' CUP STANDINGS AFTER WINTER SEASON

Men's and Women's Indoor Track And Men's Basketball Earn Points At NCAA Championships.

April 15, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence College finished the winter sports season ranked 55th in the United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings (210 points) released on April 15 after the winter season. The United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports -- 10 women's and 10 men's. Each national championship receives 100 points.

Currently, Providence is seventh in the BIG EAST Conference behind Connecticut (11th place, 512.5 points), Notre Dame (14th place, 474 points), Villanova (29th place, 348 points), Rutgers (44th place, 258.75 points), Boston College (47th place, 247 points) and Miami (52nd place, 221 points). Michigan leads the standings (950 points) with Stanford (875.25 points) and Penn State (683 points) rounding out the top-three spots.

Providence received its 210 points based on the men's and women's cross country teams' finishes at the NCAA Championships in November and the men's and women's indoor track squads' finishes at the NCAA Championship, as well as the men's basketball team's participation in the NCAA Tournament in March. The PC women's cross country team finished third and received 85 points and the men's team finished 24th and received 26 points. At the NCAA Indoor Championship, the women's indoor track team earned 69 points after finishing ninth and the men's indoor track team received five points after placing 66th. Also, the men's basketball team, which participated in the NCAA Tournament, earned 25 points.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's web site at www.nacda.com.

-end-