June 26, 2003
Columbia, Mo. - By virtually all accounts, the 2002-03 season has been a banner year for University of Missouri Athletics. The Tigers have measured up in yet one more way, as Mizzou has finished 37th overall, with a record 483.5 points, in the final NACDA Directors' Cup Standings, as released today by National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
The Directors' Cup is a comprehensive scoring system that ranks the competitive success each year from all Division I institutions, based on each school's national finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's. More detailed information about the standings can be found online at www.nacda.com
The finish marks the best-ever in Mizzou history in the standings, which date back to the 1993-94 academic year. Mizzou's previous best finish in the standings was a 49th-place showing in 2000-01. This year's point total of 483.5 smashed the previous record of 365.5 set in 2000-01. Mizzou improved from 53rd place and 344.5 points in 2001-02.
Since Director of Athletics Mike Alden took over prior to the 1998-99 season, Mizzou has posted an average yearly finish of 52nd place in the annual standings, a vast improvement from the average yearly finish of 98th from 1993-94 through 1997-98, when MU finished 50th, 105th, 133rd, 119th and 85th respectively. Under Alden, MU has finished 70th, 52nd, 49th, 53rd, and 37th, respectively, from 1998-99 to 2002-03.
"We're very pleased with our finish in the standings," said Alden. "I think it is an indication of the positive direction that our program is heading. We're doing everything we can to have one of the nation's top broad-based programs, one of which everyone who is associated with Mizzou can be proud," he said.
The final NACDA standings cap off a season of unprecedented broad-based success for Mizzou Athletics. A few brag points include:
? Highest-ever finish in the NACDA standings - 37th
? Highest-ever finish in the Big 12 all-sport standings - 3rd
? Won the inaugural MU-KU Border War Series - 32.0 to 8.5
? A record 17 of 20 sports had NCAA post-season representation
? Led the Big 12 Conference in graduation rates for the 2nd time in 3 years
? Student-athletes set records for cumulative grade point average and number of students on Dean's List