June 11, 2008

Dallas, Texas - Grand Valley State University won its fifth consecutive U.S. Sports Academy NACDA Directors' Cup in Division II it was announced Wednesday in Dallas, Texas. The prestigious award is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), United States Sports Academy and USA Today to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. The 2007-08 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup winners were announced at NACDA's 42st Annual Convention and the four winning institutions -- one in each of the NCAA divisions (I, II, and III), and the NAIA -- were awarded with their U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cups.

Grand Valley State claimed its fifth straight Directors' Cups in dominating fashion. The Lakers tallied a DII Directors' Cup record 1,028.75 points and became the first-ever DII school to go over the 1,000-point mark. In addition, the Lakers became the first-ever school to win five straight Directors' Cup titles. Abilene Christian (Tex.) finished second with 808 points, followed by Minnesota State Mankator in third (788.75). UC San Diego was fourth (752.00) and Tampa was fifth (650).

The Lakers placed in 17 postseason championships, earning points in the maximum of seven men's and seven women's sports. Grand Valley State finished third in women's cross country, women's soccer, football, women's golf, fourth in men's cross country, men's indoor track and field, and fifth in women's volleyball and men's basketball. The Lakers also placed sixth in men's outdoor track and field and women's indoor track and field, eighth in women's outdoor track and field, 14th in men's golf, 16th in women's swimming and 17th in men's tennis. Eleven teams placed in the top 10 nationally, including eight that finished in the top five. The Lakers averaged 71.6 points in seven men's sports and 75.3 points in seven women's sports. All told, the Laker women scored 527.25 points, while the men scored 501.75 points.

"I am so excited for our dedicated coaches, support staff, and most importantly, the student-athletes whose performance led us to capturing the Directors' Cup for Division II," said GVSU Director of Athletics Tim Selgo. "Our student-athletes competed at a championship level on both the playing field and in the classroom, evidenced by over 56 percent of our student-athletes achieving a 3.0 GPA or better this past year. We believe in the six attributes of Division II: passion, balance, resourcefulness, service, learning, and sportsmanship; and I am proud that our student-athletes live those attributes every day of their collegiate athletic experience while also achieving competitive success in their sports," added Selgo.

Developed as a joint effort between USA Today and NACDA, the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup program is the only all-sports competition that recognizes the institution in each of the four categories with the best overall athletics program.