In a report released Tuesday, the University of Virginia finished 30th in the final standings of the 2000-01 Division I Sears Directors' Cup.
The Sears Cup is awarded annually to the best overall collegiate athletic program in the country and is sponsored by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
Virginia finished with 487.5 points based on the combined performances of 20 sports - 10 men's and 10 women's - during the 2000-01 school year. That total placed the Cavaliers at No. 30, which is Virginia's lowest ranking since the Cup's establishment in 1993-94. It is also the first time the Cavaliers finished out of the top 25.
"It's certainly not as good as we have done in the past," interim athletic director Craig Littlepage said.
Stanford, with 1,359 points, finished first in the Sears Cup's final standings. The Cardinal have dominated the Sears Cup, and this year's win is their seventh-straight.
Stanford "has an incredible athletic program," said the NACDA's Brian Horning. "Stanford excels in all sports, every year."
The post-season performances of a school's teams affect the school's standings in the Sears Cup. For example, a team that wins a national championship will accumulate 100 points for its school, while a second-place finish will award 70 to 90 points based on the size of the tournament field. Regular season records - except that of football where a national championship tournament isn't played - are not taken into account.
This past year, the Virginia football team finished out of the top 25 in the final Associated Press rankings, and both the men and women's basketball teams failed to advance past the first round in the NCAA tournament.
Going into the spring season, the Cavaliers were ranked No. 44 in the Sears Cup standings, and Littlepage hoped that a strong spring showing would catapult Virginia into the top 25. But the men's and women's lacrosse teams as well as the men's and women's tennis teams were ousted in the first round of their NCAA tournaments.
Although the University's ranking in the Sears Cup reflects on the overall evaluation of its athletic program, Littlepage is not worried.
"I think [the Sears Cup is] one barometer, one thing to look at, but it's not the end-all," Littlepage said. "Our student-athletes have performed well in terms of graduation rates, community service activities and student-life initiatives. All these are equally important in how we evaluate ourselves."
The Sears Cup program was developed in a joint effort between USA Today and the NACDA in an effort to recognize outstanding institutions based on athletics alone. The Sears Cup is also a part of the Sears Collegiate Champions program, which awards $250,000 in academic scholarships as well as more than 2,200 conference and sport champion trophies.
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