June 26, 2008

Fueled by the postseason success of its track and tennis programs, Baylor finished 42nd nationally in the final 2007-08 United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings released Thursday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Baylor totaled 477.5 points to place seventh among Big 12 institutions in the annual all-sports sweepstakes.

Over the last four years, Baylor has recorded four of its six highest finishes in the 15-year history of the Directors' Cup. Baylor placed a program-best 25th in the 2004-05 standings, was 32nd in 2005-06, 38th in 2006-07 and 42nd this past year. Prior to the 2004-05 academic year, Baylor's best Directors' Cup finishes were 39th in 1998-99 and 40th in 2001-02.

"Baylor had another strong finish in the NACDA Directors' Cup as a result of the outstanding work of our coaches, staff and student-athletes." said Ian McCaw, Baylor's Director of Athletics. "We are poised for even greater success over the next few years with the continued strong support of the Baylor family."

Baylor totaled 477.5 points to place seventh among all Big 12 institutions in the 2007-08 all-sports rankings, behind No. 5 Texas, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 23 Oklahoma, No. 31 Nebraska, No. 33 Oklahoma and No. 38 Missouri. Baylor finished ahead of Big 12 institutions Texas Tech (No. 44), Colorado (No. 50), Kansas (No. 54), Iowa State (No. 58) and Kansas State (No. 71). Stanford won the Directors' Cup for the 14th consecutive year, followed by UCLA, Michigan, Arizona State and Texas.

Of Baylor's 2007-08 Directors' Cup point total, 241.5 points came from its four track teams and women's cross country, while BU's tennis teams combined for 156 points. All-told, Baylor produced 10 postseason tournament teams in 2007-08, four Big 12 Conference championships (two regular season, two tournament crowns), two NCAA individual national champions (men's indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relays) and 43 All-Americans. Over the last four years, only Texas and Texas A&M have won more Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships than Baylor (20).

After having a school-record 13 postseason tournament entrants in both 2005-06 and 2006-0, 10 Baylor teams earned postseason bids this past year--men's basketball (first NCAA Tournament bid since the 1987-88 season), women's basketball (fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh in last eight years), men's tennis (11th consecutive NCAA bid; fifth consecutive Elite Eight appearance), women's tennis (in fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, reached national semi-finals for first time in school history), men's indoor track and field (T-No. 19 at NCAA Championships), women's indoor track and field (T-No. 56 at NCAA Championships), men's outdoor track and field (T-No. 7 at NCAA Championships, best finish since 2004); women's outdoor track and field (T-No. 15 at NCAA Championships, best finish since 2000), men's golf (11th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance), women's cross country (placed 17th in fifth straight NCAA Championship appearance) and equestrian (Hunt Seat team placed sixth at Varsity Equestrian National Championships).

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, Ala., is the program's sponsor. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 men's and 10 women's.

Baylor's All-Time Directors' Cup Finishes

1993-1994 109

1994-1995 64

1995-1996 120

1996-1997 125

1997-1998 65

1998-1999 39

1999-2000 43

2000-2001 54

2001-2002 40

2002-2003 69

2003-2004 47

2004-2005 25

2005-2006 32

2006-2007 38

2007-08 42