Villanova University

Jan. 4, 2010

Directors Cup Standings (as of Dec. 23)

CLEVELAND, Ohio--Following the recent national championships won by the women's cross country and football teams, Villanova is ranked No. 4 in the latest standings (as of Dec. 23) released for the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup. In addition to winning a pair of team national titles, the Wildcats earned points for postseason competition by the men's cross country and women's soccer teams during the fall season.

In the most recent standings, Villanova has 282 points and trails Stanford (345), Virginia (337) and North Carolina (283). The Wildcats earned 100 points for each of their championship teams as well as 57 points for men's cross country (11th place national finish) and 25 points for women's soccer (33rd place).

All eight fall NCAA championships have been completed, with Villanova and North Carolina (women's field hockey and women's soccer) the only programs with two national titles for the 2009-10 year. The other schools to have won championships are Oklahoma State (men's cross country), Virginia (men's soccer), Southern California (men's water polo) and Penn State (women's volleyball).

It was an outstanding fall season across the board for the athletics programs at Villanova. Each one of the Wildcat team sports posted a winning record during the fall season and had a composite winning percentage of .618 (59-35-8). In addition to the success enjoyed by the teams in national postseason play, the women's soccer and men's soccer teams also qualified for their respective BIG EAST Championship tournaments.

The national titles won by the women's cross country and football teams were the 17th and 18th championships in the history of the University's athletics program. The most recent title prior to this fall was the championship won by women's cross country in 1998. That program has accounted for eight of the 18 national titles.

The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was originally developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 14 sports - seven women's and seven men's. The final Division I fall standings will be released Thursday, January 14 and will include the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) standings.

Last year, Villanova placed 56th in the final cup standings to notch its highest position since 2003-04. The 2008-09 ranking was third-highest among non-FBS schools and represented the seventh time in the 16-year history of the program that the Wildcats were among the top 60 schools. Stanford has won 15 of the 16 cup competitions.