Scoring Update for Division I

June 12, 2001

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Stanford University continued its record winning streak in the Sears Directors' Cup competition for the NCAA Division I by winning its seventh consecutive award, presented annually by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country.

The 2000-01 Sears Directors' Cup winners were announced today at the NACDA Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the four winning institutions -- one in each of the NCAA Divisions (I, II, and III), and the NAIA -- were awarded with their Sears Directors' Cups and scholarships. Although the Division I race will not conclude until June 16, after the conclusion of the NCAA College World Series, Stanford has already clinched the Sears Directors' Cup.

The Cardinal clinched the Sears Directors' Cup with a total of 1259.5 points (to date), surpassing runner-up UCLA by 121.5 points. Stanford won its seventh straight Sears Directors' Cup on the strength of a national championship in women's tennis, a total of 12 teams finishing among the top five in national competition, and 14 teams placing in the top 10. The Cardinal baseball team will add to those totals with its performance in the 2001 NCAA College World Series.

Stanford teams placing in the top 10 were women's swimming and diving (2nd), men's swimming and diving (2nd), women's water polo (2nd), women's cross country (3rd), softball (3rd), men's cross country (4th), fencing (4th), men's outdoor track and field (4th), men's tennis (5th), men's basketball (5th), men's soccer (5th), women's gymnastics (7th) and women's golf (9th). The Cardinal recorded points in the maximum of 10 women's and 10 men's sports.

Developed as a joint effort between USA TODAY and NACDA, the Sears Directors' Cup program is the only all-sports competition that recognizes the institution in each of the four categories with the best overall athletics program. The Sears Directors' Cup is part of the Sears Collegiate Champions program which annually awards more than 2,200 conference and sport champion trophies and a quarter-of-a-million dollars in academic scholarships.

While Stanford took home the Waterfordâ Crystal Sears Directors' Cup for NCAA Division I competition, the 2000-01 winners in the other divisions include: Division II - University of California-Davis; Division III - Williams College (Mass.); NAIA-Simon Fraser University (B.C.).

Through the Sears Directors' Cup program, Sears and NACDA annually award $100,000 in postgraduate academic scholarships. Five $5,000 scholarships in each division assist students who support their institution's athletics departments, including team managers, athletics trainers, band members, cheerleaders, assistant coaches, sports information assistants, facility staff and academic support personnel. For each category, four outstanding recipients are selected by a nationwide nomination process, administered by NACDA, while the fifth recipient is a student at the institution that wins the Sears Directors' Cup.

Sears and NACDA will award each of the second through fifth place institutions in all four divisions with Sears Directors' Cup plaques, commemorating their program's dedication to athletics greatness. This year's runner-up institutions in the NCAA Division I include: UCLA, the University of Michigan, the University of Arizona and Ohio State University. (Note: Runners-up may change upon conclusion of the NCAA College World Series.)

Of the 318 eligible colleges and universities in the NCAA Division I, a total of 260 (82 percent) scored points in the Sears Directors' Cup competition. Complete final rankings on all of these institutions are available on NACDA's Web site at www.nacda.com.

NACDA, now in its 36th year, serves as the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 collegiate athletics directors, associates, assistants and conference administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a leading U.S. retailer of apparel, home and automotive products and services, with annual revenue of nearly $40 billion. The company serves families throughout the country through approximately 860 department stores, more than 2,100 specialized retail locations, and a variety of online offerings accessible through the company's Web site, www.sears.com.

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