Wheaton College Earns Highest Ranking in NACDA Directors' Cup Final Standings

ORLANDO, FL--The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has announced that Wheaton College finished 21st overall in the prestigious NACDA Directors' Cup in NCAA Division III competition for the 2002-03 academic year. Presented annually to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country, the Lyons earned their highest ranking in the eight-year history of the award and in the process topped the 400-point mark for the first time.

The 2002-03 NACDA Directors' Cup winners were announced at the NACDA Convention in Orlando and the four winning institutions--one in each of the NCAA Divisions (I, II and III) and the NAIA--were awarded their Directors' Cups and scholarships. Williams College (Mass.) defended its title as the best athletics program in NCAA Division III by winning its seventh NACDA Directors' Cup.

Wheaton posted 405.25 total points, which fell 1.5 points ahead of Calvin College (Mich.) and a trio of points behind Wittenberg University (Ohio). The Lyons recorded the fourth highest standing in New England behind Williams, 11th-place Amherst College (Mass.) and 12th-place Middlebury College (Vt.). Wheaton won its fifth national championship in women's indoor track and field and third in outdoor track and field, while posting additional top 10 finishes in women's soccer (5th), women's lacrosse (9th), softball (9th) and men's indoor track and field (10th). Also attributing valuable points was baseball (17th). All told, the Lyons tallied points in four women's and two men'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 sweep indoor and outdoor national titles in three consecutive years in addition to being placed in elite company by tying for the second most combined national championships with eight. Luis Reis' women's soccer program enjoyed their most successful season in the program's history by posting a national quarterfinal finish and 22-2 record.

Rebecca Begley's women's lacrosse team also reached new heights, as the Lyons qualified for their first NCAA Tournament since 1986. Finishing with 11 wins, Wheaton was one of 16 teams to advance to a regional semifinal. Also in the spring, Gina Loudenburg's softball squad returned to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in seven years and in the process reached the regional title game. Other outstanding performances came from Eric Podbelski's baseball program and Souza's men's track and field team. Baseball won its fifth straight conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. Men's indoor track and field once again remained one of the elite teams in the country with a top 10 finish at its national championship.

Developed as a joint effort between USA Today and NACDA, the NACDA 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. Through the NACDA Directors' Cup program, NACDA awards $40,000 in postgraduate academic scholarships.

Of the 424 eligible colleges and universities in the NCAA Division III, a total of 281 (66 percent) scored points in the NACDA Directors' Cup competition. Complete final rankings on all of these institutions are available on NACDA's web site at www.nacda.com.