Dec. 16, 2010
Cleveland, Ohio — The University of New Mexico is currently in 15th place in the season’s second Learfield Sports Directors Cup Standings, announced the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). The second fall standings released are composed of six of the eight fall championships; men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s field hockey, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and men’s water polo.
The Lobos were 10th after the first standings released on December 2, which included just three sports.
The latest standings include the UNM men’s and women’s soccer teams, which both lost in the first round of the NCAA College Cup Tournament. The Lobos also finished fifth in women’s cross country and 16th in men’s cross country, giving the team 167 points. North Carolina leads with 285 points, just ahead of Florida State, who led after the first standings.
New Mexico is one point behind Syracuse, which is in 14th place. The Lobos will receive points in the next standings released on the 23rd of this month, as volleyball also qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
“I believe the Learfield Cup is a strong indication of the overall national competitiveness of your athletic program,” said Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs. “We are thrilled with the success of our fall sports and being ranked 15th at this juncture in the season. Lobo athletics is experiencing a record-breaking fall on many levels.”
Much of UNM’s success this fall has been several teams pushing their way into postseason play — a goal of all Lobo programs. Said Krebs, “For the first time ever, five fall sports qualified for NCAA postseason play, and that is a tribute to the student-athletes and the coaches we have here.”
Last year the Lobos finished 47th in the Learfield Sports Cup standings, UNM’s second-highest finish ever and its best finish in 14 years. New Mexico ranked fourth among non-BCS schools as well. Last year the Lobos recorded a school-record 522 points. This year the only non-BSC school ahead of the Lobos is Princeton, which is 10th with 184 points. The only other Mountain West school in the standings is BYU at 57th.
The Learfield Sports Directors Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the USA Today. Points are awarded based on an institution’s finish in up to 20 sports – 10 men’s and 10 women’s.
Top 15 in the Learfield Sports Director's Cup Standings1. North Carolina 2852. Florida State 2533. Stanford 2464. Virginia 2445. Ohio State 2306. Maryland 2237. Georgetown 2198. Oklahoma State 2129. Duke 18510. Princeton 18411. California 18012. Penn State 17513. Notre Dame 17414. Syracuse 16815. New Mexico 167