As of January 12, 1996

Stanford Holds onto Lead in the Final Fall Division I Sears Directors' Cup Standings

Stanford University, which had dropped from first to second in the last Sears Directors' Cup standings, has reclaimed the lead.

Stanford University, which did not receive any points in I-A football, maintains its lead at the end of the fall season in the race for the Division I Sears Directors' Cup.

The Cardinal, last year's champion, have 276.5 points. Stanford has placed third in women's volleyball, fifth in men's cross country, ninth in women's cross country and field hockey and 17th in women's soccer. With a 12th-place ranking in the USA Today/CNN football poll, Penn State University took over second place with 249.0 points. Rounding out the top five are James Madison and Notre Dame, tied for third with 225.0 points; and Wisconsin, fifth with 222.5 points.

The race for the national I-A football championship had little bearing on the Sears Directors' Cup standings as the number one ranked team, Nebraska, is 20th in the Sears Directors' Cup standings, while the number two ranked team, Tennessee, is 26th.

These are the final standings for the fall season and include the sports of men's and women's cross country, field hockey, I-A football, I-AA football, men's and women's soccer, women's vollyball and water polo. Taking home the championships in those sports are Providence in women's cross country; Arkansas, men's cross country; North Carolina, the Sears Directors' Cup winner in 1993-94, in field hockey; Nebraska in I-A football; Montana in I-AA football; Notre Dame in women's soccer; Wisconsin in men's soccer; Nebraska in women's volleyball and UCLA in water polo.

There are four Sears Directors' Cup Awards, one to honor the institution with the best all-around athletics program in each of the NCAA's Divisions I, II and III and the NAIA. It is the first-ever cross-sectional all-sports national recognition award for both men and women.

To determine the champion, points are awarded based on each institution's finish in 22 sports--nine core sports for men, nine core sports for women and two wild card sports each for men and women. The core sports include, for men--baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis and track and field; and for women--basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field and volleyball.

The winner of the award will receive a trophy designed by Waterford Crystal, which will tour the country, appearing at major men's and women's events during the year.

A complete listing of the final fall sports standings follows. These are official standings and have been verified by the independent accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, LLP. The codes are: W.CC - women's cross country, M. CC - men's cross country, FH - field hockey; I-A FB - I-A football; I-AA FB - I-AA football; W. Soc - women's soccer; M. Soc - men's soccer; W. VB - women's volleyball; and WP - water polo.

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