National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

September 15, 1997

National-level achievement emphasized in new Sears Directors' Cup scoring

The Sears Directors' Cup contests are expected to become more competitive in 1997-98 with a new scoring structure approved by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

The Sears Directors' Cup, presented annually by NACDA, is the only all-sports competition in intercollegiate athletics. It is sponsored by Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Each June, four Waterford Crystal trophies are awarded to the institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II and III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics that compile the highest combined point totals in women's and men's sports.

The all-sport trophy program also includes a scholarship component in which 20 students -- four at large per division and one at each institution that wins the Sears Directors' Cup -- each receive $5,000 postgraduate scholarship grants. The students are members of the institution's athletics support staff, such as band members, cheerleaders and sports information assistants.

"We have four years of history at Division I and two years in Divisions II, III and the NAIA," says R. Elaine Dreidame, senior associate director of athletics at the University of Dayton and chair of the Sears Directors' Cup Committee. "After reviewing the scoring trends over this time period, we felt modifications were necessary to keep the Sears Directors' Cup as exciting and competitive as possible. We feel this new structure better accomplishes the goals of the program.

"All teams which make an NCAA or NAIA championship will receive points which may be applied toward the Sears Directors' Cup. However, with this structure, we are rewarding the excellence of those teams which reach the final four of their respective championships."

There have been three major changes in the scoring for the 1997-98 year.

  • The number of sports that will be counted in the standings has been reduced from 22 to 20 in NCAA Division I (10 women's and 10 men's); from 16 to 14 in NCAA Division II (seven women's and seven men's); and from 16 to 12 in the NAIA (six women's and six men's).

    NCAA Division III will remain the same at 18 sports (nine women's and nine men's)

  • Sports will no longer be classified as core or wild-card sports. All NCAA and NAIA championship sports will count toward the number that can be included in the standings. The sports that receive the highest point totals will be used in the standings.

  • The number of points awarded for each place has changed. Winners of a national championship now will receive 100 points. The point distribution for all other places will be based upon bracket size.

    For example, in a 64-team bracket, the second-place team will receive 80 points, teams finishing third and fourth will receive 60 points, teams finishing fifth through eighth will receive 40 points, teams finishing ninth through 16th will receive 30 points, teams finishing 17th through 32nd will receive 20 points and teams finishing 33rd through 64th will receive 10 points. Similar point distributions will be used in smaller brackets.

    If there is a tie for first place in the final standings, the tiebreaker is the number of national championships won. The second tiebreaker is the most number of second-place finishes.

    The decision to change the scoring structure was made by the Sears Directors' Cup Committee.

    These changes are effective immediately.