Razorbacks 25th in Director's Cup standings

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas finished 25th in the 2008-09 Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings, it was announced Monday. The Directors’ Cup is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, Learfield Sports and USA Today to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country and this year’s standings were announced following the conclusion of the 2009 College World Series when final results were tallied. Programs are scored for their NCAA Championship finish and may count 20 sports, 10 for men and 10 for women. Arkansas’ 25th-place finish is the second time the Razorbacks have had back-to-back top 25 finishes. The Razorbacks were 24th last year. The previous occurrence was 1997-98 and 1998-99 when Arkansas was 14th and 19th, respectively. The Razorbacks were fifth in the always-tough Southeastern Conference trailing No. 3 Florida, No. 9 LSU, No. 18 Georgia and No. 23 Tennessee. Arkansas bested No. 25 South Carolina by two places and 10 points with Alabama in at No. 30 nearly 80 points behind the Razorbacks. The rest of the SEC includes No. 34 Kentucky, No. 39 South Carolina, No. 60 Ole Miss, No. 67 Vanderbilt and No. 100 Mississippi State. “With extraordinary team and individual athletic accomplishments, exceptional academic achievements and unprecedented community service involvement, our more than 460 student-athletes ensured that 2008-09 will be a school year not soon forgotten by the Razorback Nation,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. “Fourteen of our 19 sport programs competed in post-season competition including earning six NCAA regional championship or super regional championships, four Southeastern Conference titles and one NCAA national championship runner-up finish. Congratulations to our student-athletes, coaches and staff on our recognition as a top-25 all sports program. We look forward to continued success in the Razorback program in the years to come.” Arkansas scored a program-best 730 points this year behind a solid spring in which the Razorback programs tallied 421.0 points. Arkansas scored 63.0 fall points and 246.0 points during the winter season. The top-point earning team this past spring was the Arkansas men’s golf team. The Razorbacks played to a runner-up finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships earning Arkansas 90 points. Baseball was next picking up 83 points after their third-place showing followed by 69 points from men’s track and field. Women’s tennis added 64 points, women’s golf scored 47.5, women’s track and field scored 42.5 and softball scored 25 points this spring. The Stanford Cardinal won its 15th consecutive Directors’ Cup with 1455.00 points. The Cardinal scored points in 22 different sports, counting 10 of those. The Cardinal had 14 top 10 finishes including the men’s gymnastics and women’s rowing national championships. North Carolina scored 1184.25 points to unseat UCLA for the No. 2 spot. The Bruins, who fell to No. 16 this year, had been second for three consecutive years. SEC member Florida was third with 1172.75 points with Southern California fourth with 1137.75 points. Michigan rounded out the top five scoring 1131.80 points. The rest of the top 10 was No. 6 Texas, No. 7 California, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 LSU and No. 10 Ohio State. For more information about Arkansas athletics log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Arkansas’ All-Time Finishes in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup

Top 50 Institutions in the 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup

SEC Institutions