April 12, 2011
Columbia, Mo. – A strong overall showing by several winter sports has helped the University of Missouri make a jump to 32nd place nationally in the latest Learfield Directors' Cup Standings, as announced by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
A total of five sports garnered points in the latest update, including three which posted top-25 finishes. The sports scoring during the winter include: Wrestling (19th – 55.0 points), Men's Swimming & Diving (22nd – 52.0 points), Women's Swimming & Diving (23rd – 50.5 points), Men's Indoor Track & Field (26th – 45.0 points) and Men's Basketball (33rd – 25.0 points). Those showings, when combined with MU's fall scores in Volleyball (9th – 64 points) and Football (18th – 56.0 points), give Mizzou 347.50 points currently, which puts them in 32nd place overall. That's good for fifth-best among Big 12 Conference schools currently, with only Texas (8th – 560.00), Texas A&M (9th – 523.50), Oklahoma (12th – 495.75) and Oklahoma State (25th – 391.50) tracking ahead of MU at this point.
If Mizzou can maintain its position, it will surpass the previous best finish in the Learfield Cup standings – a 36th-place finish in 2008-09. The overall success of the Mizzou Athletic program on a national scale has blossomed under the leadership of Director of Athletics Mike Alden. Since Alden took over prior to the 1998-99 school year, Mizzou's average finish in the Learfield Cup is 47th. Prior to Alden's arrival at Mizzou, the Tigers' average finish in the same standings was 98th (from 1993-94 through 1997-98). In the last eight years (2002-03 through 2009-10), Mizzou's average finish in the Learfield Cup has improved to 43rd.
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports – 10 women's and 10 men's. The final Division I winter standings will be released Thursday, April 21st, 2011. For more information, please visit: http://www.nacda.com/directorscup/nacda-directorscup-current-scoring.html
Mizzou's finishes in the Learfield Cup over the years includes: 1993-94 (50th); 1994-95 (105th); 1995-96 (133rd); 1996-97 (119th); 1997-98 (85th); 1998-99 (70th); 1999-2000 (52nd); 2000-01 (49th); 2001-02 (53rd); 2002-03 (37th); 2003-04 (46th); 2004-05 (41st); 2005-06 (48th); 2006-07 (53rd); 2007-08 (38th); 2008-09 (36th); and 2009-10 (49th).