Jan. 16, 2012
Cleveland, Ohio — The University of New Mexico ranks 24th in the final fall update of the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings, ranking as the second-highest non-BCS institution. The Lobos have 164 total points. Stanford leads the pack with 382 points, followed by Florida State with 351.
The fall standings account for the sports of football (FCS and FBS), women’s cross country, men’s cross country, women’s field hockey, women’s soccer, men’s soccer, and men’s water polo.
The Lobos earned points for finishing ninth in men’s soccer and women’s cross country, 31st in men’s cross country, and 33rd in women’s soccer. UNM did not get any new points from the second fall update, and fell 14 spots to 24.
Six schools from the Big Ten are in the top 25, followed by five schools in the ACC, five from the Big Ten and five from the Pac-12. The rest of the teams come from the Big East (two), the CAA (one) and the Mountain West (one).
UNM is the only Mountain West school ranked in the top 75. Boise State is 83rd, TCU is 95th, Colorado State is 105th, Air Force is 132nd, tied with numerous schools, including future conference member Nevada.
Last year New Mexico finished 57th. UNM’s best finish was 43rd in 1995-96.The Learfield Sports Director’s Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Director’s of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 20 sports — ten women’s and ten men’s.