April 9, 2008

Following a runner-up performance in women's basketball, as well as a third place finish in men's swimming and a ninth place finish in men's basketball, Stanford extended its lead in the second installment of the winter Division I U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings. The Cardinal have scored a total of 907.00 points to lead all teams by more than 220.00 points.

Jumping five spots from the previous standings is Texas, who is now in second place with 684.00 total points. The Longhorns scored in all three of the most recent championships; finishing second in men's swimming, fifth in men's basketball and 17th in women's basketball to bring their winter point total to 439.50.

Also moving up in the standings is California, who climbed one spot to third place with a total of 629.00 points. The Bears notched a fourth place finish in men's swimming and finished 17th in women's basketball to have a total of 259.00 points this winter.

Rounding out the top-five are Penn State and Ohio State who are in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The Nittany Lions, who were previously in second place, have a total of 622.75 points after placing 23rd in men's swimming. The Buckeyes scored in two recent championships, placing 33rd in women's basketball and 16th in men's swimming to now have a total of 589.50 points.

NCAA Championship winners this winter include Kansas in men's basketball, Tennessee in women's basketball, Arizona in men's and women's swimming, Arizona State in men's and women's indoor track and field and Iowa in wrestling.

In the National Collegiate Sports of skiing, rifle, fencing and women's ice hockey, Denver took home the skiing title and Ohio State was the fencing champion. Wisconsin had the highest Division I finish in women's ice hockey, second, and Army had the top Division I finish in rifle, runner-up.

The final NCAA Division I winter release will be published on May 1 and will include the collegiate sports of women's bowling, men's and women's gymnastics as well as men's ice hockey.

The U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. The United States Sports Academy, based in Daphne, Alabama, is the program's sponsor. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's.

Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's Web site at www.nacda.com.

For the complete standings click here.