June 11, 2004
Truman Finishes Third In The Final Directors' Cup Standings
The final NCAA Division II standings of the United States Sports Academy NACDA Directors' Cup were released today and the Truman athletics department finished in third-place, the best all-time finish for a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) school.
"We are proud of the achievements of our student-athletes and coaches," said Truman Director of Athletics Jerry Wollmering. "This is an indication of our abilities to compete on a national level. It is a great accomplishment for our student-athletes to rank in the top ten nationally both athletically and academically."
The Directors' Cup program, which started in 1995-96 for NCAA Division II schools, honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program which achieve success in many sports, both men's and women's. Schools receive points for up to seven men's and seven women's sports that advance to NCAA Championship competitions.
Truman has twice finished in the top-five in the Directors' Cup standings as the Department also finished fourth during the 2001-02 school year. The Bulldogs have achieved a top-10 finish in each of the last six years and have had the highest finish among MIAA schools in five out of the last six seasons.
Truman ended the year with 603 points, finishing behind Grand Valley State (Mich.) (810) and UC-San Diego (663). Rounding out the top five were North Dakota (574.5) and California State-Chico (574).
The Bulldogs were tied for fifth after the fall season as four sports scored points, led by the men's soccer team which scored 70 points for advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. The volleyball team scored 50 points, the men's cross country team collected 40 points and the women's soccer team had 25 points.
The women's swim team fourth straight national championship gave Truman 100 more points in the winter and the Bulldogs stayed in fifth-place. Other points from the winter sports came from the wrestling squad (58.5) and the men's swim team (42).
In the spring, Truman jumped ahead two spots for its final finish of third-place. Five sports scored in the spring season: women's track (69), men's track (49), men's golf (49.5), softball (25) and men's tennis (25).
The women's indoor track team also placed at the 2004 NCAA Tournament, but the Directors' Cup standings only use the highest finish between indoor and outdoor track.
The success of Bulldog athletes extend to the classrooms as well. Truman was ninth among Division II schools this year in the USA Today/NCAA Academic Achievement Awards. This ranking was for freshman graduation rates for students who entered school in the fall of 1996. Truman had a graduation rate of 78% for their 1996 freshman class.
Only one other school, UC-San Diego, in NCAA Division II was ranked in the top 10 in both the Directors' Cup and Academic Achievement Award standings.