Azusa Pacific (Calif.) Finishes First in Final NAIA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings

June 17, 2011

Immediate Release
Contact: Julie Work, NACDA Director of Communications, jwork@nacda.com  

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Azusa Pacific (Calif.) has claimed the top spot in the final NAIA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings. The Cougars tallied 820.75 total points in taking home their seventh straight Learfield Sports Directors' Cup.

Embry Riddle Aeronautical (Fla.) finished in second following a fifth place finish in baseball. The Eagles end the year with 752.25 total points.  

The Hawks of Shorter (Ga.) finished in the top five for the first time in the third place spot with 741.00 total points. 

In fourth place with 719.75 total points is Fresno Pacific (Calif.). The Sunbirds most recently finished 20th in baseball.

Lindenwood (Mo.) rounds out the top-five with 686.75 total points.

The Golden State Athletic Conference remains atop the conference standings, with four of its member institutions in the top 10 (Azusa Pacific (Calif.) - first; Fresno Pacific (Calif.) - fourth; California Baptist - sixth; Concordia (Calif.) - eighth).  

All eight spring NAIA championships have been completed to date with the following institutions capturing titles: baseball - Concordia (Calif.); women's golf - California Baptist; men's golf - Oklahoma Christian; softball - Oregon Tech; women's tennis - Auburn Montgomery (Ala.); men's tennis - Fresno Pacific (Calif.); women's track & field - Concordia (Ore.); men's track & field - Shorter (Ga.).

The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 12 sports -- six women's and six men's.

Click HERE for complete standings and the scoring structure . In addition, please visit www.thedirectorscup.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/lsdirectorscup or follow us on Twitter @lsdirectorscup.

About Learfield Sports: The 2010-11 athletics season marks its third year as title partner of the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup.  A preeminent leader in the collegiate sports marketplace for nearly 40 years, Learfield Sports manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 50 collegiate institutions, conferences and associations.  The company also operates regional and statewide radio networks, having broadcast over 50,000 games and coaches' shows since it began working with flagship property Mizzou in 1975.  These ever-expanding, collegiate relationships feature strategic sponsorship platforms that include stadium/arena signage, official university publications, Internet sites, digital media, hospitality, radio and television programming as well as game-day events.  To learn more about Learfield Sports, which is an operating unit of Learfield Communications, Inc., visit learfieldsports.com.