WU Athletics Records Seventh-Straight Top-10 Finish

St. Louis, Mo., June 19, 2009 – Washington University in St. Louis Department of Athletics finished fourth in the 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Division III standings, as announced Friday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

The fourth-place finish is the third highest in school history and marks the Bears’ seventh-straight top-10 appearance–2002-03 (fifth), 2003-04 (ninth), 2004-05 (third), 2005-06 (seventh), 2006-07 (fifth), 2007-08 (second). Washington University, which was 14th after the fall standings and fourth after the winter, accumulated 873 points, the second-highest total in school history. The Bears posted a school-record 899 points en route to its second-place finish in 2007-08.

Williams College (Mass.) won its 11th-consecutive Directors' Cup and 13th in the last 14 years with 1,065 points. Middlebury College (Vt.) (923 points), Amherst College (Mass.) (910 points), Washington University (873 points) and Cortland State University (N.Y.) (861 points) rounded out the top five.

Washington University accumulated four top-five finishes and had 15 teams compete in NCAA Tournament action last year. The Bears also won nine University Athletic Athletic Association (UAA) titles.

Highlighted by the men’s basketball team’s second-consecutive national championship, the Bears had seven overall top-10 finishes in 2008-09: women’s basketball (second), men’s tennis (fourth), women’s outdoor track and field (fifth), men’s swimming (seventh), volleyball (ninth) and women’s soccer (ninth). The Bears also placed 12th in women’s cross-country, 14th in women’s swimming, 17th in softball and women’s tennis, 32nd in men’s indoor track and field, 36th in baseball, 44th in men’s outdoor track and field and 54th in women’s indoor track and field.

Washington University is one of eight UAA members within the top 105 schools in Division III–Emory University (sixth, 809.50 points), Carnegie Mellon University (26th, 512.50 points), New York University (65th, 250.50 points), Brandeis University (80th, 218.50 points), University of Chicago (81st, 218.50), Case Western Reserve University (87th, 209.50 points) and University of Rochester (102nd, 189 points).

Learfield Sports, a leader in the collegiate sports marketplace for almost four decades, manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 50 collegiate institutions. The Dallas-based company also manages corporate partner programs for the Big Ten Conference and the Western Athletic Conference and secures marketing partnerships for the Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA). Learfield Sports (learfieldsports.com) is an operating unit of Jefferson City, Mo.-based Learfield Communications, Inc., which made its initial foray into the world of sports marketing in 1975 as the radio rights holder for the University of Missouri, a client still today.