April 26, 2001

CLEVELAND - As the winter championship season comes to a close, six-time Division I Sears Directors' Cup champion Stanford University has increased its lead to a comfortable 174-point margin. The Sears Directors' Cup is presented by the nation's athletics directors.

Stanford boasts 849.5 points, led by two runner-up finishes in women's and men's swimming. The Cardinal also placed fourth in fencing, fifth in men's basketball and men's indoor track and field, seventh in women's gymnastics, 11th in men's gymnastics, 17th in women's basketball and 31st in women's indoor track and field. The Sears Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. It is administered by NACDA and sponsored by Sears, Roebuck and Co.

In second place is Michigan with 675.5 points. Rounding out the top five is Wisconsin in third place with 641.5 points; Ohio State in fourth with 609 points; and Nebraska in fifth with 608.5 points.

This is the final set of winter standings and includes the sports of women's and men's basketball, fencing, women's and men's gymnastics, women's and men's ice hockey, rifle, skiing, women's and men's swimming, women's and men's indoor track and field and men's wrestling. Winning national championships were Notre Dame in women's basketball; Duke, men's basketball; St. John's (N.Y.), fencing; UCLA, women's gymnastics and women's indoor track and field; Ohio State, men's gymnastics; Boston College, men's ice hockey; Denver, skiing; Georgia, women's swimming; Texas, men's swimming; Louisiana State, men's indoor track and field; and Minnesota, men's wrestling. The highest Division I finish in women's ice hockey and rifle, National Collegiate Championships, was third place by Harvard and second place by Kentucky, respectively.

Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports -- 10 for men and 10 for women. Each national champion receives 100 points.

Final winter sport standings follow. Please note that standings published midseason are unofficial standings. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. Codes are as follows: W. - women; M. - men; BB - basketball; Gym - gymnastics; IHoc - ice hockey; Ski - Skiing; SW - swimming; T&F - track and field; and WR - wrestling. Complete standings, including a breakdown by sport, and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's web site at www.nacda.com.

Go To Standings (in PDF form)