June 17, 2011
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By Joe Hornstein
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - With the addition of points earned by the Conference USA champion men's golf and women's track & field programs, UCF Athletics has now moved into 64th place in the most recent release of NACDA's Learfield Sports Director's Cup standings, which ranks 280 Division I programs across the country.
UCF's current national ranking, total points earned and number of programs earning Director's Cup points are all school records.
UCF Athletics presently has seven sports earning a combined total of 303 points. UCF's NCAA regional-qualifying baseball program will still add to the Knights' overall position, which will be included in the final standings released on June 30.
UCF's 64th-place standing ranks seventh nationally for schools which are not members of automatically-qualifying BCS conferences and joins Tulsa (51st) and SMU (59th) for the top three positions in Conference USA. UCF's ranking is also ahead of 16 schools from automatically-qualifying conferences, including schools hailing from the SEC, Big 12, ACC, Pac-10 and BIG EAST.
The Knights' placement is especially impressive considering that UCF sponsors just 16 varsity sports, far fewer than several of the top schools in the standings. The Director's Cup takes a total point score per school and does not average that total over sports sponsored by that school.
Thus far in 2010-11, UCF has earned 54 points in football, 50 in men's soccer, 50 in women's soccer, 25 points in women's basketball, 52.5 points in women's indoor track & field, 15 points in men's golf and 56.5 points in women's outdoor track & field.
UCF's previous top season was finishing No. 72 with 238 total points in 2003-04, when the program was part of the Atlantic Sun Conference and football was a member of the Mid-American Conference.
First presented in 1993-94 as a venture between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today, the coveted Learfield Sports Director's Cup honors institutions who achieve broad-based success. Schools earn points based upon their success in NCAA postseason play except for football which uses a combination of final poll rankings and bowl game success. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports -- 10 women's and 10 men's.
UCF Top Finish in the FINAL Standings
Year Finish Points
2010-11 64 303 (as of June 17, 2011 Standings)
2003-04 72 238
2004-05 83 202
2008-09 90 201.75
1995-96 93 143
2009-10 106 165
1994-95 111 101.5
2007-08 113 166
1999-00 120 118.5
1993-94 121 92.5
2001-02 132 120
2002-03 150 100
1996-97 159 68
1998-99 163 30
1997-98 169 20
2000-01 227 30
2006-07 237 35.5
2005-06 N/A 0
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2011 UCF Football season ticket packages can be purchased online at UCFAthletics.com or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at (407) 823-1000. Should UCF host the C-USA Championship Game for the fourth time in seven years, it would be played on Saturday, Dec. 3 and season ticket holders will receive the first shot at the best seats.
45,000 UKNIGHT ON SEPT. 3RD!
• 2010 AutoZone Liberty Bowl champions
• Top 20 ranking and a program-best 11 wins in 2010
• Two-time Conference USA champions (2007 & 2010)
• Three-time Conference USA East Division champions (2005, 2007 & 2010)
• Four bowl appearances since 2005
• Led by three-time C-USA Coach of the Year George O'Leary
• Over a dozen UCF Knights appeared on NFL rosters in 2010