Grizzlies claim fourth straight Top-10 Directors' Cup finish

CLEVELAND— The Adams State College Grizzlies claimed their fourth straight and 13th overall Top-10 finish in the final 2009-10 NCAA Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings released  this week by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

Adams State, the only NCAA Division II institution to win three national titles this year, finished 10th in the nation-wide all-sports competition with 613 ½ points, the most of any school in the14-member Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Grand Valley State (Mich.) won its seventh straight title with 1021 ½ points while California (Pa.) took second with 703 points.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today.  Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 14 sports — seven women’s and seven men’s.  National Championships teams earn 100 points for their institution while other national championship qualifying teams are awarded points on a sliding scale based on their finish and the size of the championship field.

The women’s cross country, men’s cross country and men’s indoor track and field championships each won national  titles in 2009-10 as they each earned the maximum points.  The Grizzlies also scored points in five other sports taking fourth in men’s outdoor track and field, fifth in women’s indoor track & field, eighth in women’s outdoor track and field, 13th in wrestling and also received 25 points in the sport of women’s basketball after that Grizzly squad qualified for the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the first time in program history.

Adams State is the only school in the RMAC and the only school in Colorado (all divisions) to have ever won the all-sports competition doing so in 1998-99 when it was known as the Sears Directors’ Cup.   The Grizzlies also recorded top-10 finishes in 2008-09 (8th), 2007-08 (6th), 2006-07 (6th), 1999-00 (8th) and 1997-98 (8th) and now have 13 straight top-20 finishes, the longest such streak in the RMAC and in Colorado.

More information can be found on NACDA’s website by clicking here.

Related Item: Final 2009-10 Standings