Wheaton Ranks in Top 25 for Second Straight Year in Sears Directors' Cup Final Standings

DALLAS, TX- Sears, Roebuck and Co. and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA) have announced that Wheaton College finished 24th overall in the prestigious Sears Directors' Cup in NCAA Division III competition for the 2001-02 academic year. Presented annually to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country, Wheaton earned its second-highest ranking in the seven-year history of the award, as the Lyons finished 23rd last year.

Williams College (Mass.) defended its title as the best athletics program in NCAA Division III by winnings its sixth Sears Directors' Cup. The 2001-02 Sears Directors' Cup winners were announced at the NACDA Convention in Dallas, Texas and the four winning institutions -- one in each of the NCAA Divisions (I, II and III) and the NAIA -- were awarded with their Sears Directors' Cups and scholarships.

Wheaton posted 350 total points, which fell two points ahead of Messiah College (PA) and a pair of points behind Rowan University (NJ), a school that enrolls more than six times the number of students that attend Wheaton. The Lyons recorded the fourth highest standing in New England behind Williams, fourth-place Middlebury College (VT) and seventh-place Amherst College (Mass.). Wheaton won its fourth national championship in women's indoor track and field and second in outdoor track and field, while posting additional top 10 finishes in men's indoor track and field (4th), men's soccer (5th), men's outdoor track and field (5th) and baseball (9th). Also attributing points was women's soccer (17th) and softball (17th). Wheaton tallied points in three men's and three women's sports.

Several team milestones highlighted the year, including Paul Souza's women's track and field team becoming the first NCAA Division III women's program ever to win four straight indoor national titles in addition to being placed in elite company with capturing both the indoor and outdoor championships in consecutive years. The men's indoor and outdoor track and field squads enjoyed their most successful seasons in the program's history by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Matt Cushing's men's soccer team also reached new heights, as the Lyons advanced farther than any Wheaton collegiate soccer program with a national quarterfinalist finish, New England Regional Championship and school-record 21 wins. In the spring, Eric Podbelski's baseball squad witnessed history making, as the Lyons reached their first regional title game while posting a school-best 37 wins. Other outstanding performances came from Luis Reis' women's soccer program and Gina Loudenburg's softball team, as each were selected to host their respective New England Regional Tournaments. Women's soccer and softball also enjoyed winning their NEWMAC regular season and tournament titles.

Developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today, the Sears Directors' Cup program is the only all-sports competition that recognizes the institution in each of the four categories with the best overall athletics program. The Sears Directors' Cup is part of the Sears Collegiate Championships program which annually awards more than 2,200 conference and sport champion trophies and a quarter-of-a-million dollars in academic scholarships.

Of the 395 eligible colleges and universities in the NCAA Division III, a total of 270 (68 percent) scored points in the Sears Directors' Cup competition. Complete final rankings on all of these institutions are available on NACDA's web site at www.nacda.com.