BYU in 13th in Director's Cup Race

CLEVELAND—In current Division I Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings, BYU comes in at No.  13 with 98 points for its highest fall ranking since the 2003-04 season.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (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. The next Division I standings will be released Thursday, December 15.

The Cougars’ men’s and women’s cross country teams, which both competed at the NCAA Championships in November, are responsible for the high ranking. The men’s team came in fourth and the women’s team came in 28th, with Miles Batty finishing at No. 14 for the men and Morgan Haws finishing at No. 14 for the women.

In 2003, BYU ranked No. 5 (248 points) after the end of fall competition and ended the season 29th overall with 579.5 points. Last season BYU finished No. 37 after a successful run in men’s basketball.

Defending champion Stanford is the leader after the first fall Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings. The Cardinal leads No. 2 Syracuse by 41 points, 199-158. Stanford accumulated its 199 points by having all of its squads finish in the top 10 in each of the three completed championships: men’s cross country (No. 5), women’s cross country (No. 9) and field hockey (No. 9).

The Syracuse Orange finished in a tie for fifth in women’s field hockey, 15th in men’s cross country and 17th in women’s cross country.

The Michigan Wolverines are in third after tying for fifth in women’s field hockey, 15th in women’s cross country and 20th in men’s cross country for a total of 152 points. Colorado is currently in fourth place with 142 points after placing third in men’s cross country and 11th in women’s cross country

Rounding out the top five is Georgetown. The Hoyas gathered their 140 points by capturing first place in the women’s cross country national championship and finishing 17th in the men’s meet.

These midseason standings are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon completion of the spring season.

For more information on the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup and how schools are scored, visit www.directorscup.org.