Jan. 12, 2006

Standings in PDF Format
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Cleveland, Ohio - The University of Notre Dame, which has held the lead in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings for most of the year, finished the fall season on top with 412 points, 103.5 points in front of its nearest competitor.

The Fighting Irish scored in six sports, including five top 10 finishes. They placed third in men's cross country, fifth in women's soccer, seventh in women's cross country, ninth in men's soccer and women's volleyball and 11th in Division I-A football.

Moving into second place with 308.5 points was Penn State, which placed third in Division I-A football and women's soccer and ninth in women's field hockey, men's soccer and women's volleyball. They are followed by defending champion Stanford, in third with 282 points; Duke, fourth with 280 points; and Wisconsin, in fifth with 277 points.

These are the final fall standings and include the sports of women and men's cross country, women's field hockey, Division I-A and I-AA football, women and men's soccer, women's volleyball and men's water polo. Winning these national championships were Stanford in women's cross country, Wisconsin in men's cross country, Maryland in women's field hockey, Texas in Division I-A football, Appalachian State (N.C.) in Division I-AA football, Portland in women's soccer, Maryland in men's soccer, Washington in women's volleyball and Southern California in men's water polo.

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. The United States Sports Academy, based in Daphne, Alabama, is the program's sponsor. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's

Final fall sports standings follow. Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial standings. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season.