U of L Caps Off Landmark Season In Fall Sports

Here's the release:

The University of Louisville achieved its highest finish in the final fall Division I Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings since complete records were available, beginning with the 1993-94 seasons, by placing 11th.

The standings rank institutions maintaining a broad-based program, which achieve success in men's and women's sports.

The Cardinals, the highest ranking BIG EAST team in the 2011-12 standings, own 212 points after all eight Division I fall championships. Louisville finished just 10 points away from Texas (222 points), which anchored the 10th-place position. Stanford owns the No. 1 spot, with Florida State, North Carolina, UCLA and Michigan rounding out Nos. 2-5.

In the last release of the standings, Louisville had 187 points. Behind the football team's participation in the Belk Bowl, the school gained an additional 25 points. Previously, the men's and women's soccer teams and women's volleyball team secured points for the Cardinals.

The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today in 1993-94. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 men's and 10 women's.

The first winter Division I standings will be released March 22.

Louisville's Rankings in the Final Fall Standings
2011-12: 11th
2010-11: 21st
2009-10: 70th
2008-09: 68th
2007-08: 30th
2006-07: 23rd
2005-06: 44th
2004-05: t-33rd
2003-04: t-67th
2002-03: t-89th
2001-02: t-62nd
2000-01: t-108th
1999-00: t-102nd
1998-99: t-55th
1997-98: N/A
1996-97: t-78th
1995-96: t-93rd
1994-95: t-116th
1993-94: 40th