Flames Post Second-Best Finish in Director's Cup
7/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | General
2011-12 Learfield Sports Directors Cup final standings
For just the second time in Athletics Department history, Liberty finished inside the Top 100 in the final Division I Learfield Sports Director's Cup standings.
Liberty finished No. 95 in the final standings compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA) for the 2011-12 academic year.
The results marked the fourth year in a row Liberty has bettered its standings in the Division I Learfield Sports Director's Cup rankings.
The Flames finished the year with 192.00 points, allowing Liberty to finish 95th out of 340 NCAA Division I programs in the country.
The 2011-12 ranking is the second-best in Athletics Department history, with the best coming in 2001-02 when Liberty finished No. 82 (217.50 points). During the last five years, each of which the Flames captured the Big South Sasser Cup title, the Flames have finished inside the Top 120 in the Director's Cup standings: No. 95 in 2011-12, No. 109 in 2010-11, No. 115 in 2009-10, No. 120 in 2008-09 and No. 110 in 2007-08.
Liberty's 2011-12 Director's Cup standings were bolstered by the Athletics Department's first-ever Top 10 NCAA Championship finish. The Flames' golf program finished in 10th place at the 2012 NCAA Men's Golf National Championship at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., earning Liberty a total of 67.5 Director's Cup points.
Liberty's men's outdoor track & field (54th place, 19.5 points) and women's swimming program (44th place, 30.0 points) also had NCAA national championship finishes that earned Director's Cup points. Liberty's men's soccer, women's basketball and volleyball programs each claimed Big South titles and NCAA Championship appearances to record 25.0 Director's Cup points apiece.
Finishing directly ahead of the Flames for the second year in a row was the Ivy League's Columbia at No. 94 with 193.00 points, while Loyola (Md.) of the MAAC finished No. 96 with 190.00 points.
Of the 14 NCAA Division I programs inside the Commonwealth of Virginia, Liberty finished fourth. Virginia led the Commonwealth by finishing No. 15 (910.00 points), followed by No. 35 Virginia Tech (587.25 points) and No. 79 Old Dominion (238.00 points).
Stanford claimed its 18th-straight Director's Cup title, as the Cardinal finished the year with 1448.25 points. Florida took second place with 1314.00 points, followed by UCLA (1142.75), Ohio State (1104.25) and Florida State (1061.00).
The Learfield Sports Director's Cup, now in its 19th year of existence, was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and the USA Today. Points are awarded based on each Division I institution's finish in up to 20 sports – 10 women's and 10 men's.
2011-12 Learfield Sports Director's Cup Standings
Division I Programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia:
(Includes two schools with no points earned):
15. Virginia (910.00 points)
35. Virginia Tech (587.25 points)
79. Old Dominion (238.00 points)
95. Liberty (192.00 points)
132. VCU (125.00 points)
136. James Madison (117.00 points)
160. Norfolk State (96.00 points)
165. George Mason (93.00 points)
194. Richmond (74.50 points)
206. Hampton (57.50 points)
213. Radford (50.00 points)
235. William & Mary (30.00 points)
--- - Longwood (0.00 points)
---. VMI (0.00 points)
Liberty's Year-By-Year Director's Cup Standings
1993-94 – No. 208 (16.50)
1994-95 – No. 225 (15.50)
1995-96 – No points earned
1996-97 – No. 213 (16.50)
1997-98 – No. 142 (30.00)
1998-99 – No. 214 (10.00)
1999-00 – No. 174 (60.00)
2000-01 – No. 158 (78.00)
2001-02 – No. 82 (217.50)
2002-03 – No. 224 (30.00)
2003-04 – No. 210 (50.00)
2004-05 – N/A (Only Top 100 on record)
2005-06 – N/A (Only Top 100 on record)
2006-07 – No. 134 (118.00)
2007-08 – No. 110 (169.50)
2008-09 – No. 120 (139.50)
2009-10 – No. 115 (148.74)
2010-11 – No. 109 (152.25)
2011-12 – No. 95 (192.00)
