July 8, 2004

Florida State athletics had a lot to celebrate in 2003-04. In fact, you could make a strong case to prove that it was the most successful all-around athletics year in school history with another BCS Bowl appearance, the 2003 Soccer College Cup and the 2004 Softball College World Series - just to name a few accomplishments. The point is also reflected by Florida State's No. 22 finish in the United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup Division I final standings. The No. 22 final standing, which is an improvement of 16 spots over last year's, ranks third among all ACC schools and is FSU's top finish in school history.

"We did have an outstanding year academically and athletically and with service in terms of student-athletes giving back to their community," Florida State Director of Athletics Dave Hart said. "We've just had a very, very good year. We finished 22nd in the Director's Cup standings and that's the highest we've ever finished."

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced last September that the United States Sports Academy (USSA) would become the official sponsor of the Directors' Cup, the national all-sports awards program owned and operated by NACDA. The Directors' Cup is the first-ever cross-sectional all-sports national recognition award for both men and women. It was developed in 1993-94 by NACDA and USA Today as the all-sports award for Division I. The program was then expanded in 1995-96 to include Divisions II and III and the NAIA.

Each institution is awarded points in a pre-determined number of sports for men and women. The overall champion is the institution that records the highest number of points in their division's United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings. The winner receives a Waterford crystal trophy. For Division I, 10 men's and 10 women's sports are counted.

FSU's Directors' Cup Final Ranking (since 98-99):

Year - Final Ranking
98-99 - 39
99-00 - 46
00-01 - 35
01-02 - 39
02-03 - 38
03-04 - 22


2003-04 United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup
Division I Final Standings
Top 25

Rank 	Institution 	Final 
1 	Stanford 	1337.3
2 	Michigan 	1226.3
3 	UCLA 	        1178.8
4 	Ohio State 	1026.5
5 	Georgia 	1005.3
6 	Florida 	993.25
7 	North Carolina 	925
8 	Washington 	919.5
9 	California 	899.5
10 	Texas 	        880.25
11 	LSU 	        867.75
12 	Arizona 	799.5
13 	Penn State 	795.5
14 	Tennessee 	755.75
15 	Oklahoma 	728.75
16 	Texas A&M 	714
17 	Arizona State 	708
18 	Duke	        706.5 0
19 	Notre Dame 	705
20 	Minnesota 	687
21 	Southern Cal	683.5
22 	Florida State 	623
23 	Auburn	        616.75
24 	Maryland 	599
25 	Illinois 	597