June 26, 2008
BERKELEY, Calif. - Behind its second straight NCAA championship in men's water polo, a second-place finish in women's tennis, an NCAA semifinal showing in women's volleyball and a third-place finish in women's crew, California placed seventh in the final Directors' Cup standings for 2007-08 - the fifth time in the past six years the Golden Bears have rated among the Top 10 athletic programs in the country. The seventh-place showing also matches 2005-06 for Cal's best-ever standing in the Directors' Cup.
Cal was ninth in 2003, 2004 and 2007.
Overall, eight of Cal's teams that compete under the NCAA banner placed among the nation's Top 10: men's water polo (first), women's tennis (2nd), women's volleyball (3rd), women's crew (3rd), men's swimming and diving (4th), women's swimming and diving (5th), men's gymnastics (5th) and softball (9th). Rugby captured its 24th national title and men's crew placed third at the IRA regatta, but because they are not NCAA-sponsored sports, the Bears do not receive points for either of their finishes.
Other Golden Bear programs to earn Directors' Cup points for their postseason finishes were: men's cross country, which earned its first team invitation to nationals, football, women's track and field, women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, men's tennis, men's and women's golf, men's and women's indoor track and field and baseball.
Cal senior Tim McNeill won his third NCAA title on pommel horse and second on parallel bars in April, making him the most successful gymnast in Cal history with five national crowns. Junior Katie Morgan claimed the NCAA title in the pole vault at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships earlier this month. Cal's Freshman 8 also repeated as champions at the IRA regatta.
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 and is presented to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country in NCAA Division I, II and III and the NAIA. The United States Sports Academy is the program's sponsor. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in a maximum of 10 NCAA-sponsored sports for both men and women.
Below is a year-by-year look at Cal's finishes in the Directors' Cup:
17th in 1993-94
13th in 1994-95
30th in 1995-96
26th in 1996-97
19th in 1997-98
23rd in 1998-99
15th in 1999-00
12th in 2000-01
20th in 2001-02
9th in 2002-03
9th in 2003-04
15th in 2004-05
7th in 2005-06
9th in 2006-07
7th in 2007-08
Cal scored Directors' Cup points in the following sports in 2007-08:*Points are awarded in a maximum of 10 men's and women's sports. Because Cal scored higher in 10 sports other than men's track & field, no points were accumulated for the 71st-place finish.Men's Water Polo - 1st (100) Women's Tennis -2nd (90) Women's Rowing - 3rd (85) Women's Volleyball - 3rd (83) Men's Swimming and Diving - 4th (80) Women's Swimming and Diving - 5th (75) Men's Gymnastics - 5th (73) Softball - 9th (64) Men's Cross Country - 16th (42) Football - 26th (45) Women's Track and Field - 22nd (51) Women's Basketball - 17th (50) Women's Soccer - 17th (50) Men's Soccer - 17th (50) Men's Tennis - 17th (50) Women's Golf - 34th (39) Women's Indoor Track and Field - 34th (38) Baseball - 49th (25) Men's Indoor Track and Field - 57th (16) Men's Golf - 59th (14) Men's Track and Field - 71st (0)*
Final Director's Cup Standings 1. Stanford 1461.00 2. UCLA 1182.00 3. Michigan 1161.50 4. Arizona State 1146.00 5. Texas 1129.50 6. Florida 1126.75 7. California 1120.00 8. Louisiana State 1085.00 9. Penn State 1041.00 10. Georgia 1040.00
