The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has announced that the United States Sports Academy (USSA) will become the official sponsor of the Directors' Cup, the national all-sports awards program owned and operated by NACDA.

The Directors' Cup is NACDA's 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.

The United States Sports Academy, located in Daphne, Alabama, is an independent, nonprofit, special-mission graduate school of sport dedicated to serving the United States and the world through programs of instruction, research and service.

The USSA has operated an awards program for 20 years. The Academy's Awards of Sport, which have been presented since the 1984 Olympics with the theme "The Artist and the Athlete," bestows a number of awards. They include the Carl Maddox Sport Management Award, named after the USSA's former chair of the board of trustees, former director of athletics at Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University, and NACDA's James J. Corbett Award winner in 1986. The Academy also selects the Athlete of the Year and the Team of the Year. Additional information on the USSA can be found on its Web site at www.ussa.edu.

"The Directors' Cup has become the measuring stick by which colleges and universities evaluate their athletics programs," said NACDA President Judy Rose, director of athletics at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. "It is symbolic of athletics excellence. We have a rich history with the program and look for the significance of the Directors' Cup program to continue with the sponsorship of the USSA."