AMHERST, Massachusetts -- Behind the success of its men's and women's soccer programs, Amherst College currently ranks in 10th place in the race for the Sears Directors' Cup. These standings are preliminary for the fall, whose final rankings will be published on December 31 to include the sports of men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball. These current standings account for championship finishes in all sports except football.
Men's and women's soccer both finished the 1997 campaign in the NCAA Tournament and among the top ten teams in the nation. The men, making their third trip in five years, garnered 60 points for their NCAA Final Four finish as the fourth-best team in the nation. Coming off their own Final Four season in 1996, the women posted an national quarterfinal showing in their fourth-straight NCAA appearance. Women's soccer earned 40 points from the Sears Directors' Cup scoring structure, as they will begin the 1998 season ranked seventh in the country.
Last year, Amherst finished seventh overall for Division III institutions.
A new scoring structure was implemented this year in which points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 18 sports - nine for men and nine for women. Each national champion receives 100 ppints (last year, first place was worth 64 points), while second place is worth 80 points (exceptions include brackets of eight and fewer teams).
There are four Sears Directors' Cup Awards, one to honor the institution with the best all-around athletics program in each of the NCAA's Divisions I, II, III and the NAIA. It is the first-ever cross-sectional all-sports national recogntion award for men and women.
1997-98 Division III Preliminary Fall Standings Rank Institution Total 1 California-San Diego 230 1 Cortland State (N.Y.) 230 3 William Smith (N.Y.) 180 4 New Jersey, College of 170 5 Washington (Mo.) 160 6 Wheaton (Ill.) 120 7 Calvin (Mich.) 110 7 Middlebury (Vt.) 110 7 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 110 10 Amherst (Mass.) 100 10 Emory (Ga.) 100 10 Ithaca (N.Y.) 100 10 Mary Washington (Va.) 100 10 North Central (Ill.) 100 10 Wisconsin-La Crosse 100 # # # 12/15/97