May 3, 2007

BERKELEY - California sits in second place in the final winter standings in the race for the 2006-07 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup and is on track for its highest finish ever.

The Golden Bears have a total of 761.5 points, trailing only Stanford, which has 997.5 points. Wisconsin is third with 753.5 points, followed by Michigan (731.25) and Penn State (704.33)

During the winter sports seasons, Cal picked up points in seven of its programs that compete during the term. Women's swimming & diving posted the highest finish with a third-place showing at the NCAA championships. Other programs to finish in the Top 10 nationally were men's gymnastics, which took seventh, and men's swimming & diving, which was eighth.

In addition, the Bears were 15th in women's indoor track & field, 19th in women's gymnastics, 19th in men's indoor track & field and tied for 33rd in women's basketball.

Cal stood in first place in the Directors' Cup following the fall campaigns for the first time, keyed by a national championship in men's water polo and Top 10 finishes in field hockey, volleyball and men's soccer.

The Director's Cup, which was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today, measures the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country and awards points based on final national standings in a maximum of 10 NCAA-sponsored sports for both men and women.

Cal placed a program-record seventh last year, and the Bears have finished in the Top 15 six times over the past seven years.

Cal had 501 points at the end of the 2005-06 winter sports seasons, putting the Bears more than 250 points ahead of last season's pace.

For a complete look at the 2006-07 final winter standings, visit the NACDA website at nacda.com.