The results of the 2002-2003 Director's Cup are in, and Virginia athletics are officially back among the best in the nation. The Cavaliers scored 690 points and placed 19th in this year's standings, ending a two-year skid during which they failed to place in the top 25. Virginia finished as high as eighth in 1999, but fell as low as 30th in 2001. This year's improvement speaks to the importance the school has placed on its athletic program in recent years.
"John Casteen has set a vision of institutional excellence, in stating that goal he has spoken of having an athletic department that performs as a top ten athletic department," Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said.
The Director's Cup Standings, which were released last month, rank every athletic department in the country based on how their sports teams finish nationally. Each individual sport can earn points for a high national finish. Teams earn anywhere from 100 points for a national title to 5 points for a top 80 finish in a non-revenue sport. The Cup, which began in 1993, is the most comprehensive ranking in college athletics.
Virginia owes most of its success in this season's Cup to the achievements of its spring sports teams. The lacrosse teams earned 190 points alone this year, with the men's team earning 100 points for its national championship and the women's team earning 90 points for its appearance in the national title game. Spring sports accounted for almost half of Virginia's total, raking in 320 points overall.
Virginia's fall sports also earned a significant number of points toward the Cup ranking. Both men's and women's soccer teams garnered over 50 points for their successful seasons and the women's cross country team earned 34 points for its top 20 finish. Additionally, the football team provided an unexpected boost by finishing in the top 25. Should Head Coach Al Groh's team continue to rise, it stands to become a consistent contributor to Virginia's Cup success.
Virginia finished second among ACC schools, just edging out the Duke Blue Devils. North Carolina continued its dominance within the conference, scoring 933.4 points and finishing seventh nationally. The Tar Heels finished third in women's soccer and fourth in women's track and field. The Maryland Terrapins also finished in the top-25.
While 19th place represents a great finish for the Cavaliers, there is always room for improvement.
"We hope to be nationally prominent on the basis of the measurements academically with regard to graduation rates, as far as the competitive success of our program national rankings and the hopes to win championships and so forth," Littlepage said. "The hope is that this will be something sustained over time and as well broadened over our 25 sports."
The Stanford Cardinal placed first in this year's standings, winning their ninth Director's Cup in a row. Stanford jumped out to an early lead, earning 443 points in the fall season alone. Most recently, the Cardinal gained 90 points for its second-place finish in the College World Series. The appearance in the title game gave the Stanford program a dominating 1420.5 Cup points. The runner-up, Texas, finished over 300 points behind them.