June 14, 2012

LOS ANGELES - Following strong showings in men's golf and women's rowing, UCLA moved up three spots from No. 7 to No. 4 in the latest 2011-12 Division I Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings released on Thursday.

The most recent standings have Stanford (1384.25 pts.) already winning the Cup, followed by Florida (1241.00), Ohio State (1104.25) and UCLA (1064.75). UCLA, however, will end up passing Ohio State for third place when the final standings are released due to its involvement in this week's College World Series. Just by competing in Omaha, UCLA will gain at least 73 points for a total of 1137.75. Ohio State, which did not make the postseason in baseball, is unable to gain any more points this year. The Bruins cannot catch Florida, which is also competing in Omaha this week.

When the final standings are released in late June, it will mark UCLA's highest finish in the since the 2004-05 school year.

UCLA's rise in the most recent standings can be attributed to a fifth-place finish in men's golf and an eighth-place finish in women's rowing. In addition, the Bruins placed 17th in men's track & field and 21st in women's track & field. UCLA scored in eight men's sports and 11 women's sports, with softball points being omitted.

The latest standings have four Pac-12 institutions in the top 10: Stanford (1st), UCLA (4th), USC (6th) and Cal (7th).

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 20 sports -- 10 women's and 10 men's.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website www.directorscup.org.