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June 26, 2008 - 10:41AM
ASU has best finish in Directors' Cup standings
Mark Heller, Tribune
The good times of this academic year were officially counted on Thursday, and Arizona State capped the 2007-2008 calendar with an all-time high.
Thanks to three national championships and eight top-10 national finishes this year, ASU finished fourth in the final Directors' Cup standings - their best showing since the standings debuted 14 years ago, topping a ninth-place finish in 2000-2001.
The Cup standings reflect each university's success in collegiate athletics throughout the academic year and are used to determine the top overall athletics programs in the nation.
After years of hovering in the teens, a move toward the top became a strong point of emphasis when athletic director Lisa Love took over in 2005.
"I could not be prouder of the student-athletes and coaches who competed at such a high level for our university," Love said. "We compete in such a prolific conference in the Pac-10, in which we won five conference titles. ... I am so proud of the great work going on within our athletic family."
The Sun Devils finished with 1,146 points in the Cup standings. Two other Pac-10 schools topped the standings - Stanford won its 14th consecutive Cup with 1,461 points and UCLA finished No. 2 for a third consecutive year with 1,182 points. Michigan was third with 1,154.
California (seventh), USC (13th) and Washington (23rd) rounded out the Pac-10 contingent in the top 25.
The Sun Devils earned 100 points each from the softball, men's indoor track and field, and women's indoor track and field teams this year after each won national titles. The women's outdoor track and field team (second), the women's cross-country team (fourth) and the women's golf team (fifth) each earned top-5 finishes.
Overall, 18 ASU teams scored points toward the Cup with half of the teams securing more than 60 points each.
Conversely, Arizona suffered its worst finish (27th) since the Cup standings began in 1993-94. The Wildcats finished 24th last year, and have failed to crack the top 10 since the 2001-2002 academic year.
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