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Men's gymnastic's national title contributed 100 points to Illinois' total.
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April 26, 2012
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Complete Winter Standings | Directors' Cup Website | Director's Cup Schedule
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Illinois ranks 15th overall in the 2011-12 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings following the completion of all winter sports schedules. Illinois received 317.75 points as a result of overall success in winter sports competition, highlighted by men's gymnastics' national championship and top-15 finishes by wrestling, women's gymnastics and men's indoor track & field.
The Illini men's gymnastics team earned 100 points after winning the program's first NCAA title in 23 years. Wrestling added 72 points for placing seventh at the NCAA championships, while men's indoor track & field and women's gymnastics each finished 13th to earn 63 and 59.25 points, respectively. Women's indoor track & field rounded out the winter scoring, earning 23.5 points with its 48th-place finish.
Illinois has 502.75 points for the 2011-12 season when adding the winter total to the Illini's fall total of 185.0 points. Illinois ranked 16th when the final fall standings were released on January 12. Last season, the Fighting Illini placed 23rd in the final Directors' Cup standings. The best-ever Illinois finish in the Director's Cup is 20th in 2008-09.
Across the nation, No. 1 Stanford (1,029.75 points) holds a massive lead over second-place Ohio State (807.75), the Big Ten's top program. Two other Big Ten teams are in the top-five, with Penn State sitting in third (793.0) and Michigan in fifth (666.0) sandwiched around fourth-place Florida (702.0). Illinois ranks sixth among all Big Ten schools, as Minnesota sits sixth overall (661.25) and Wisconsin comes in at No. 10 (582.0).
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup honors institutions that maintain a broad-based athletics program, achieving success across men's and women's sports programs. Each institution is awarded points based on the national finish of each program, while the school with the highest annual points total earns a crystal trophy in recognition of its success. The first spring Division I standings will be released on May 31, with the final 2011-12 standing coming out in late June.
Illinois' Directors' Cup History
1993-94: 57th
1994-95: 57th
1995-96: 58th
1996-97: 46th
1997-98: 31st
1998-99: 36th
1999-00: 31st
2000-01: 45th
2001-02: 30th
2002-03: 30th
2003-04: 25th
2004-05: 36th
2005-06: 40th
2006-07: 42nd
2007-08: 34th
2008-09: 20th
2009-10: 35th
2010-11: 23rd
