April 22, 2004

Columbia, Mo. - Mizzou Athletics stands 42nd in the latest United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup (formerly the NACDA Directors' Cup) standings. Mizzou moved up from 48th, from the previous set of standings.

The Tiger women's gymnastics team accounted for the upward climb in the latest standings, as Mizzou reached the NCAA Regionals for the third straight year under Head Coach Rob Drass. Their appearance gave MU 46.5 points in the Directors' Cup standings, leaving MU with 289.5 points now on the season.

If the season ended today, the 42nd-place finish would equal the second-best for MU since the standings began in 1993-94. Mizzou notched its best-ever finish last season, when it finished 37th overall in 2002-03 (483.5 points).

The United States 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, Alabama, is in its first year sponsoring the program. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's. Each national champion receives 100 points.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's web site at www.nacda.com.