Bates College ranked 57th out of the 310 NCAA Division III schools that scored points, as the final standings of the 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup were released by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). It is Bates’ highest final standing in the rankings since 2006.

With 268.00 Directors’ Cup points, Bates ranks sixth among schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, ahead of Hamilton (240.25), Colby (204.50), Connecticut College (154.10) and Wesleyan (112.00). The NESCAC occupied the top three spots and four of the top 10, topped by Williams, which won its 11th straight Directors’ Cup.

Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup points are based upon team finishes in NCAA championships. The Bobcats scored 138.00 points in the winter season — 51 from Nordic and alpine skiing (13th place in NCAA), 45 from women’s swimming and diving (29th place), and 42 points from women’s indoor track and field (32nd place). Bates scored 130.00 more points in the spring season, with 90 points in women’s rowing (second place), 35 points in women’s outdoor track and field (38th place) and five points from men’s outdoor track and field (76th place). Because the rankings are solely based on team standings at NCAA Championships, the men’s tennis doubles title won by Bates’ Ben Stein and Amrit Rupasinghe did not impact the Directors’ Cup standings.

View a PDF of the complete 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings at this link.

Bates’ Directors’ Cup Standing Through the Years:

2008-09: 57th place
2007-08: 77th
2006-07: 76th
2005-06: 49th
2004-05: 33rd
2003-04: 48th
2002-03: 50th
2001-02: 45th
2000-01: 50th
1999-00: 35th
1998-99: T-79th
1997-98: T-49th
1996-97: 51st
1995-96: 58th

In its highest rating ever, the Bates College athletics program has been ranked 19th out of 420 in the NCAA Division III winter rankings.

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics introduced the Sports Academy Directors’ Cup (formerly called the Sears Directors’ Cup) in 1995-96 as a measure of the overall athletic success of colleges and universities in the three NCAA divisions as well as in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Besides awarding a trophy cup to the top school, the organization ranks the top 100 schools in each of the NCAA’s three divisions.

“This places us squarely among the top 5 percent of all Division III athletics programs,” said Bates Director of Athletics Suzanne Coffey. “Our successes have come in both team and individual sports.”

Bates is one of four schools in the top 20 that are all members of NESCAC (the New England Small College Athletic Conference). “We compete in the strongest conference in Division III, and our ranking is evidence of our ability to win at both the NESCAC and national levels,” Coffey said. She noted that one year ago, Bates was ranked 34th among the 420 NCAA Division III athletics programs.

The three other NESCAC teams are Williams (ranked first), Middlebury (fifth) and Amherst (11th). The only other Maine teams in the top 50 are Colby (24th) and Bowdoin (36th). The rankings are conducted three times a year: after fall, winter and spring sports seasons.

These winter standings include the sports of fencing, skiing, women’s and men’s basketball, ice hockey, swimming, track and field, and men’s wrestling.

The Sports Academy Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today. The United States Sports Academy, based in Daphne, Ala., is the program sponsor. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 18 sports — nine women’s and nine men’s.

The ranking was announced at Bates April 10 before 546 Bates student-athletes at the college’s annual All-Sports Awards Banquet. Varsity athletes constitute almost one-third of the Bates student body.