Madison, WI – The University of Wisconsin placed 19th in the final Sears Directors’ Cup standings, released today by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. It is the fifth time in the competition’s seven years that UW has finished among the top 20.

Wisconsin’s 671.5 points were fourth-best among Big Ten schools. The Badgers finished 17th overall last year with 661.5 points. Their other top-20 finishes were 12th in 1993-94, 17th in 1994-95 and 15th in 1995-96. The UW also placed 24th in 1996-97 and 34th in 1997-98.

Wisconsin was helped this year by top-10 finishes in volleyball (second), men’s cross country (fifth), men’s hockey (fifth), women’s cross country (eighth) and wrestling (10th).

Stanford won its seventh consecutive Sears Cup title, scoring 1349.5 points on the strength of 13 top-five finishes. UCLA was second, followed by Georgia, Michigan and Arizona. Ohio State (sixth) and Penn State (10th) were the other two Big Ten schools ahead of Wisconsin. Minnesota (23rd), Purdue (31st), Indiana (32nd), Michigan State (39th) and Iowa (44th) and Illinois (45th) all finished among the top 50.

The Sears Directors’ Cup is the only all-sports competition in intercollegiate athletics. It is sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Standings for the 2000-01 Sears Directors’ Cup, presented annually by the nation’s athletics directors (NACDA), were based upon the size of the championship bracket. The largest bracket size counted is a 64-team bracket. First place for all brackets and all sports is 100 points. Most sports receive 80 points for second place and 60 points for third and fourth place. Remaining places receive anywhere from 10 to 40 points based on the size of the bracket. Individual sports are placed into the corresponding bracket size and are grouped according to the team places.