July 1, 2009

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The 2008-09 academic year was a successful one for a number of Wildcat teams, and Villanova has finished the year with a very strong ranking in the final standings of the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, which were announced this week. Villanova placed 56th overall in the standings and was third-highest among non-Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools. In all, nine different Wildcat teams earned points for postseason competition over the past year.

This year marked the seventh time in the 16-year history of the Sports Directors' Cup program that Villanova placed in the top 60 of the standings. The school's finish this year is its highest since placing #55 in the 2003-04 cup standings.

During the spring season which just ended, the men's lacrosse team as well as both the men's and women's outdoor track & field teams, advanced to postseason play to accumulate points in the standings. Villanova reached the NCAA Tournament in men's lacrosse for the first time after the Wildcats captured the Colonial Athletic Association title. The team earned 25 points for a ninth-place national finish.

The outdoor women's track & field team matched the achievement of the indoor squad by receiving team points at the national championship meet. Villanova placed 40th in the outdoor championship on the women's side to earn 33 points in the cup standings. The outdoor men's track & field team placed 37th at the national championships, good for 36 cup points.

Villanova was remarkably consistent this past year, as three teams reached the postseason in the fall, winter and spring seasons. Among winter sports, the men's and women's basketball teams as well as the indoor women's track & field team competed in postseason championships. Both Wildcat basketball teams reached the NCAA Tournament in the same year for the first time since 1988. The men's basketball team advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1985 to post a third-place national finish. The women's track and field team received 42.5 points for finishing 30th overall.

This past fall, the men's and women's cross country teams both reached the national championship meet, with the women's team placing sixth overall. In addition, the football team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division I Football Championship in its first playoff appearance since 2002.

The BIG EAST Conference currently has 10 of its 16 programs ranked in the top 100 in the latest standings. The Wildcats are ranked fifth among the conference schools and are joined in the top 60 by Notre Dame (#21), Louisville (#32), West Virginia (#50), and Connecticut (#52).

The Sports Directors' Cup is a program that honors institutions for maintaining a broad-based program and for achieving success in many sports, including both men's and women's programs. The program was started by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today in 1993-94 for Division I and was expanded in 1995-96 to include Division II, III and the NAIA. Institutions are awarded points in a pre-determined number of men's and women's sports.