March 25, 2004

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Nine Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) schools are ranked in the Division III United States Sports Academy Directors’ Cup standings including two schools in the top-25. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) released the standings through the winter championship season on Thursday.

Wartburg College is currently seventh with 467 points which includes points awarded in seven fall sports (men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, football and field hockey) and eight winter sports (men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s track and field, wrestling and skiing). Loras College is also in the top-25 of the 245 ranked schools, sitting at number 25 with 261.5 points.

Central College is 54th 167.5 points), Buena Vista University is tied for 58th (162.5 points), Simpson College is tied for 82nd (123 points), Luther College is 104th (104 points), Coe College is 128th (83.5), the University of Dubuque is 146th (69.75 points) and Cornell College is 189th (45.5 points).

The United States Sports Academy Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today. The United States Sports Academy is in its first year sponsoring the program. Points are awarded based on each institution’s national finish in up to 18 sports – nine women’s and nine men’s. Each national champion receives 100 points.

During the winter season, Wartburg won the wrestling national title (100 points), finished 15th in men’s track (58.5 points) and 29th in women’s track (43.5 points). Loras finished 15th in wrestling (60 points), 20th in men’s track (52.5 points), 52nd in women’s track (19 points) and 53rd in swimming (21 points). Central finished 24th in men’s track (48.5 points), 31st in wrestling (42.5 points) and 44th in women’s track (26.5 points). Buena Vista finished 9th in women’s basketball (64 points), 17th in men’s basketball (50 points) and 25th in wrestling (48.5 points). Simpson finished fifth in wrestling (75 points) and 51st in women’s swimming (23 points). Luther finished third in wrestling (85 points) and 52nd in women’s track (19 points). Coe finished 17th in wrestling (57 points) and 44th in women’s track (26.5 points). Dubuque finished eighth in men’s track (69.75 points). Cornell finished 28th in men’s track (45.5 points).

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA’s web site here.

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