Providence College Athletics

Friars Finish 73rd In The US Sports Academy Directors' Cup Standings

Friars Finish 73rd In The US Sports Academy Directors' Cup Standings

It marks the Friars' fourth highest finish in the 11-year history of the Cup.

July 7, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence College finished 73rd of 327 eligible Division I colleges and universities in the final 2003-04 United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings released on June 26. For the Friars, it is their fourth highest finish in the 11-year history of the Cup and their top finish since the College was 72nd in 1997. Of the 86 Division 1-AAA schools in the standings, the Friars were the third highest finishers as only Pepperdine (52nd) and Denver (59th) placed higher. The NACDA Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors (NACDA), the United States Sports Academy 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. A total of 278 (85 percent) of the 327 eligible colleges and universities scored points in the 2003-04 United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup.

Stanford captured the 2003-04 NACDA Director's Cup after scoring 1,337.3 points. Michigan (1,226.3 points) and UCLA (1,178.8 points) finished second and third, respectively. Providence received its 235 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 and the men's lacrosse team's participation in the NCAA Tournament in May. 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. The men's basketball team, which participated in the NCAA Tournament, earned 25 points. Also, the men's lacrosse team made its first appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament and earned 25 points.

Providence finished ninth among the 14 BIG EAST schools behind Notre Dame (19th - 705 points), Connecticut (35th - 512.5 points), Miami (50th - 390.75 points), Georgetown (54th - 355 points), Villanova (55th - 348 points), Rutgers (63rd - 283.75 points), Boston College (68th - 252 points) and West Virginia (71st - 245 points). The Friars finished ahead of five BIG EAST schools, Virginia Tech (79th - 218 points), St. John's (86th - 195 points), Pittsburgh (90th - 190.5 points), Syracuse (98th - 164 points) and Seton Hall (105th - 152.5 points).

Last year, Providence finished 101st of 318 eligible colleges and universities in the final NACDA Director's Cup Standings.

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

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