SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Wittenberg University's athletic teams finished the 2002-03 academic year winter season ranked 14th among 397 NCAA Division III schools in the Sears Directors' Cup standings. Wittenberg is the highest ranked North Coast Athletic Conference institution, as well as the highest ranked school in the state of Ohio heading into the spring sports season.

"One of my goals when I came to Wittenberg was to emphasize an all-around athletic program that has success in many different endeavors," Wittenberg Director of Athletics and Recreation Garnett Purnell said. "This is great news. It shows that Wittenberg is competing well on a national level with the best that NCAA Division III has to offer.

The Directors' Cup, presented annually since 1996 by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), is based on schools' finishes at their respective national championships. Wittenberg finished the fall season with 179 points thanks to national finishes in football (tied for ninth), volleyball (tied for fifth) and field hockey (tied for ninth).

"We're looking forward to a great spring season to wrap up the 2002-03 school year."

1. Williams (Mass.) - 873.25
2. College of New Jersey - 582.5
3. Wisconsin-LaCrosse - 502.5
4. Trinity (Texas) - 502
5. Wartburg (Iowa) - 496.25
6. Wisconsin-Oshkosh - 488.5
7. Wisconsin-Stevens Point - 478.5
8. Washington (Mo.) - 475.25
9. Ithaca (N.Y.) - 422.5
10. Wheaton (Ill.) - 401
11. Messiah (Pa.) - 400
12. Emory (Ga.) - 393
13. Nebraska Wesleyan - 355
14. Wittenberg (Ohio) - 338.5
15. Amherst (Mass.) - 318

The Directors' Cup, presented annually since 1996 by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), is based on schools' finishes at their respective national championships. Wittenberg finished the fall season with 179 points thanks to national finishes in football (tied for ninth), volleyball (tied for fifth) and field hockey (tied for ninth). After the winter sports season, Wittenberg increased its point total to 338.5 thanks to national finishes in women's basketball (tied for 33rd), men's swimming and diving (tied for 21st), women's swimming and diving (tied for 40th), and men's track and field (tied for 23rd).

Each year, the Directors' Cup program, presented in partnership by Sears, NACDA and USA TODAY, awards Waterford Crystal trophies to the top athletics programs in NCAA Divisions I, II and III and the NAIA, and presents a total of $100,000 in postgraduate academic scholarships to students in all four collegiate categories. Developed as a joint effort between USA TODAY and NACDA, the Sears Directors' Cup program is the only national awards and academic scholarship program to recognize all NCAA and NAIA championship sports for both women's and men's athletics.

Wittenberg's Sears Directors' Cup Finishes

1995-96 - 35th
1996-97 - 52nd
1997-98 - 84th
1998-99 - 89th
1999-00 - 117th
2000-01 - 44th
2001-02 - 69th
2002-03 - 14th (through March 27, 2003)