GLIAC Places Two Institutions in the Top 10 of the Final Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings
Portions of this release courtesy of the Ashland University and Grand Valley State University Sports Information Departments
Cleveland, Ohio - Grand Valley State University claimed top honors in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings for the eighth consecutive year it was announced today by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in Orlando, Fla. Grand Valley State scored a DII record 1,057.50 points, outdistancing second-place Central Missouri (779.75) by 277.75 points. Augustana (S.D.) finished third (761.50), Abilene Christian (Tex.) fourth (718.00) and Adams State (Colo.) fifth (696.00). Ashland finished ninth (624.00) as the GLIAC was the only DII league in the country to have two teams finish in the top 10. The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup trophy, which is commonly known as the all-sports trophy, is presented to the top athletic department in the country. The scoring system is based on the national finishes of seven men's and seven women's sports.
Click here to view the final D-II Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) was well represented in the final Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings as two members finished in the top 10 and five member institutions ranked among the top 53 teams in Division II. The GLIAC is the only conference in the country with two schools in the Top 10.
Aside from GVSU, Ashland University finished ninth with 624.00 Wayne State University placed 31st with 391.00 points. The University of Findlay finished in 41st place with 348.00 points, while Ferris State University placed 53rd with 291.00 points.
GVSU finished with 1057.50 points and was able to tally points in the maximum of 14 sports (7 men's, 7 women's). The Lakers placed a total of 17 teams in postseason play during the 2010-11 academic year, with a record 13 teams finishing in the top 10 nationally. In addition, four teams claimed NCAA DII National Championships (women's soccer, women's cross country, women's indoor track & field and women's outdoor track & field) and the Lakers became the first school in NCAA history, regardless of division, to win the National Championship three-peat of women's cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field in the same academic year. GVSU used consistency throughout each season, collecting 411.00 points in the fall, 292.00 points in the winter and 354.50 points in the spring. The Laker women scored 615.50 points, while the men scored 442.00 points. GVSU averaged 72.50 points per sport, including an incredible 87.92 points per women's sport. The GVSU men averaged 63.14 points per sport.
In addition to the four National Championships, GVSU finished third in men's cross country, fifth in volleyball, sixth in women's golf, seventh in both baseball and men's swimming and diving, ninth in football, softball, women's tennis and women's swimming & diving. The men's outdoor track & field team finished 16th, while the men's indoor team claimed 20th. Men's golf was 21st and women's basketball was 33rd. GVSU did not count the points scored by softball (64), women's tennis (64) and women's basketball (25). Grand Valley State also claimed six NCAA DII Great Lakes Regional crowns.
GVSU's eight Learfield Sports Directors' Cup titles are tops among all NCAA DII school's and the 2010-11 campaign marked the fourth straight year that Grand Valley State has eclipsed the 1,000-point total. GVSU now owns the top six point totals in DII Directors' Cup totals.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Ashland University athletic department has finished in the Top 10 in the final Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings. Ashland is ninth in this year’s standings. AU was seventh last year, sixth the year before and ninth three years ago. Ashland is one of only five institutions in the nation to be in the Top 10 each of the last four years. The others schools are Grand Valley State, Abilene Christian, UC San Diego and Adams State.
AU's best season was the winter when the Eagles rolled up 346.50 points. The men’s indoor track team finished second in the country at the indoor national championship meet and the women finished eighth. The women’s swimming and diving team finished fifth at the NCAA Division II meet. AU had 252.50 points during the spring season. Track and field, softball, women's golf, and men's golf all contributed points in the spring. The Eagles softball team was in the postseason mix for the third straight season, advancing to the Midwest Region Tournament.
