June 27, 2007

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine finished 56^th in the final U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings, the highest finish in school history.

The Directors' Cup is compiled annually by the Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), United States Sports Academy and USA Today to rank the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country.

UC Irvine finished 56th out of 285 Division I schools with 367 points. Following a successful spring, UCI earned points from the men's volleyball national championship, baseball's third place finish at the College World Series, women's golf's 19^th place showing at the NCAA Championship as well as post-season appearances by men's golf and women's tennis.  

In the winter, men's and women's swimming garnered points for finishing 25^th and 33^rd respectively at the NCAA Championships.

UC Irvine ranked second among non Division I-A schools behind Cornell at No. 55 and was the highest Division I-AAA school.

Stanford captured its 13^th straight Directors' Cup with 1,429 points. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's.