June 3, 1999

Boosted by a national championship season from the men's volleyball team, Brigham Young has once again bettered its position in the 1998-99 Sears Directors' Cup standings.  Ten different Cougar teams have registered a combined 370 points during the current athletic year to earn a sixth-place tie with the University of Arizona.

The Sears Directors' Cup has been awarded annually since 1994 by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) to honor the institution with the best all-around athletics program for that given year.  Besides the NCAA Divison I trophy for which BYU competes, there are actually three other awards, for Divisions II and III, and the NAIA.  The Cup is sponsored by Sears, Roebuck and Co., with USA Today acting as the program's media partner.

BYU had its highest finish in the Sears Cup standings two years ago, ending the year in 16th place, followed by a #18 finish last year.  Stanford has won the Cup four of the five years years it has been in existence, and holds a commanding lead in this year's competition with 760 points.  Each school can score points in up to 20 sports (10 men's and 10 women's).  Each sport's national champion earns 100 points, with fewer points being awarded for lower finishes.

In fall sports, BYU scored points with a second-place finish in women's cross country (80 points), fifth-place women's volleyball finish (40 points) and ninth-place women's soccer finish (30 points).  BYU's winter points were earned for its sixth-place finish in women's indoor track and field (40 points), fifth-place finish in men's gymnastics (20 points), 26th-place finish in men's swimming (20 points), 30th-place finish in men's indoor track and field (20 points), 39th-place finish in wrestling (10 points) and 40th-place finish in women's swimming (10 points).  The men's volleyball team (100 points) is the sole scorer for the Y thus far in the spring sports category.

The remaining spring sports to be decided are baseball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, and men's golf.  BYU is currently competing in the NCAA finals in both golf and track, so the Cougars' final tally can be calculated before long.  The men's golf team is guaranteed points because of their championship berth.  The men's and women's track teams, however, will have to outdo their indoor track and field finishes (30th and sixth, respectively), to make a difference in the final count.

There are several schools such as #8 Duke and #14 UCLA that could make big jumps in the final standings with high finishes in the remaining sports, but for all intents and purposes, it would appear that BYU should have a top ten finish all but wrapped up.  However, only time will tell.  In any case, the Y has made strides in a positive direction, and looks forward to someday nudging Stanford out of the top spot.

For complete Sears Cup standings, visit:
http://nacda.com/sears/current/div1/spring/div1-99spring02.html

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