April 22, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The UI Athletics Department currently ranks 27th in the latest Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings and are on a pace to challenge its best performances in the 17-year history of the competition.
Iowa has accumulated 417.75 points as a result of competition in post-season championships during the fall and winter sports seasons. The bulk of that total – 372.75 points — was generated by the UI’s performances in NCAA championship competition by its wrestling (3rd place, 85 points), men’s track and field (8th/69.75), women’s gymnastics (25th, 46.5) men’s gymnastics (8th, 46), women’s swimming and diving (30th, 40.5), men’s swimming and diving (35th, 36), women’s basketball (33rd, 25) and women’s track and field (50th, 21) teams.
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Iowa’s total of 417.75 for the fall and winter sports championships is just 56.75 points shy of the Hawkeyes’ best point total ever in Directors’ Cup competition.
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The Hawkeyes ranked 47th with 296.50 points accumulated at this point in the competition a year ago.
Iowa ranks eighth among its Big Ten Conference peers. The Big Ten has three of the Directors’ Cup’s current top five schools, five of the top 11, and seven of the top 21. To review the current standings of the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, click HERE.
Iowa finished the 2009-10 season 55th in the Directors’ Cup with 369.88 points. The UI’s best performance came in 2004-05 when it finished in 39th place. Its best performance in terms of points scored came in 2008-09 when UI teams accumulated 474.30 points.
The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in national championship competition in up to 20 sports – 10 women’s and 10 men’s.
The 2010-11 athletics season marks the third year that Learfield Sports has served as the title sponsor of the Directors’ Cup. A preeminent leader in the collegiate sports marketplace for nearly 40 years, Learfield Sports manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 50 institutions, conferences and associations including the University of Iowa. To learn more about Learfield Sports, which is an operating unit of Learfield Communications, Inc., click HERE.