Dec. 17, 2009

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Providence College is currently ranked 31st out of more than 300 eligible NCAA Division I Colleges and Universities in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings. The rankings were released on December 17, following the completion of six of the eight NCAA Falls Sports Championships. A series of rankings are released during the academic calendar year, following the completion of NCAA Championships for each of the three seasons of collegiate competition (fall, winter and spring). Final fall standings will be released on December 23.

The standings to date include women's cross country, men's cross country, field hockey, women's soccer, men's soccer and men's waterpolo. Two more fall sports championships have yet to be completed. The Friars earned 91 points in the standings following the solid efforts of the women's cross country and men's cross country teams at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Friar women placed 11th overall at the NCAA Championships, which translates into 57 points toward the Directors' Cup. The Providence College men's cross country team placed 20th at the NCAAs and tallied 34 points for the Friars in the Directors' Cup.

Providence College finished 91st out of 271 Division I colleges and universities in the final 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, racking up 200.50 points. Stanford University clinched its 15th-consecutive Directors' Cup, tallying 1455.00 total points.

The Directors' Cup was first awarded in 1993-94. Since its inception, the Friars have finished among the top-100 a total of 11 times, including five of the last six years.

- FRIARS -