National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

June 30, 1997

Six-cessful season

Stanford shines by winning an unprecedented six national titles

BY SALLY HUGGINS
STAFF WRITER

Newcomers won more than a third of the 81 NCAA championships during the 1996-97 academic year. But one familiar name kept appearing at the top of the standings throughout the year -- Stanford University.

To be exact, Stanford won six team championships -- a record number for one school in one year.

Stanford swept men's and women's championships in three sports -- cross country, volleyball and tennis.

Was it the best athletics achievement in Stanford history? "I think so," said athletics director Edward "Ted" Leland. "It's been an awfully good year. Kind of extraordinary, really."

It was the first time that Stanford claimed championships in Division I men's and women's cross country and National Collegiate men's volleyball. But in Division I men's tennis, Stanford has claimed 15 championships, including the last three. Stanford also has compiled nine championships in Division I women's tennis and three in Division I women's volleyball.

Acknowledging Stanford's athletics prowess, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics recently presented the university with the Division I Sears Directors' Cup, which annually honors the best overall athletics program.

In Sears Cup competition, each institution is awarded points in a predetermined number of core and wild-card sports for men and women. The overall champion typically is an institution that boasts a broad-based program and achieves success in many sports, both men's and women's. Stanford fits the bill.

In Division I cross country, Stanford became only the second team to sweep the men's and women's championships. The University of Wisconsin, Madison, performed a similar sweep in 1985.

In men's volleyball, Stanford defeated defending champion and top-ranked University of California, Los Angeles, twice in a week on its way to the title. Stanford defeated UCLA at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament before heading to Columbus, Ohio, for the National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship.

In the final match of the championship, Stanford again upset UCLA in five dramatic games.

In Division I women's volleyball, it was business as usual. Stanford won its third title in six years.

In Division I tennis, Stanford swept the men's and women's championships for the fifth time. The men claimed their seventh title in 10 years. In women's tennis, Stanford's victory ended a five-year drought, before which the school won six consecutive titles.

But even as Stanford was extending its dominance in championships, a newcomer prevented the Cardinal from claiming a seventh title and extending yet another streak. In Division I women's swimming and diving, the University of Southern California ended Stanford's streak of five consecutive championships. It was Southern California's first title in women's swimming.

Several other newcomers joined the ranks of winners during the 1996-97 championships:

  • In Division II women's swimming and diving, a first-time champion was crowned when Drury College defeated Oakland University, which was trying to win a sixth straight championship before moving to Division I next year. Drury won the championship in its third year in Division II.

  • In Division I men's swimming and diving, Auburn University won its first championship. Auburn had won only one relay in the championships before this year, but the school made up for it in 1997, winning all but one of the relays.

  • In Division III, longtime champion Kenyon College kept its streak alive, winning its 14th straight women's swimming and diving championship. In Division III men's swimming and diving, Kenyon lost its conference championship for the first time in 44 years but rallied to win the national title for the 18th straight year.

  • In Division II women's tennis, Lynn University won in its first year in Division II. In Division II men's tennis, Lander University improved to five-for-five as an NCAA member since joining the Association in 1992-93.

  • Division III men's tennis crowned a new champion when Washington College (Maryland) won after not even reaching the championships in 1996. In Division III women's competition, Kenyon won, continuing a tradition of no team ever having won back-to-back championships in the event. Kenyon won in 1993 and 1995.

  • In combined National Collegiate men's and women's championships, all of the champions were repeaters. West Virginia University won its third consecutive title in rifle while Pennsylvania State University took home its third straight title in fencing despite failing to win an individual championship. The University of Utah achieved its ninth title in skiing -- its second consecutive crown.

  • In gymnastics, UCLA won its first National Collegiate women's championship after finishing as runner-up in 1996. In men's competition, the championship went to the University of California, Berkeley, for the third time but for the first time since 1975. Last year marked California's first appearance in the championships in 14 years.

  • The state of Wisconsin took honors in both men's and women's cross country in Division III. The University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, took home its first championship in the men's competition and the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, won its fourth women's title, ending State University College at Cortland's four-year reign.

  • In Division II cross country, South Dakota State University won its fifth men's championship but first since 1994. The school has appeared in all 39 championships since 1958. Adams State College earned its fifth consecutive title in Division II women's competition. It has won every year since it became an NCAA member in 1992. In both championships, Western State College of Colorado finished as runner-up.

  • Repeat champions were the rule in men's and women's track. Louisiana State University extended its 11-year streak in Division I women's outdoor track while the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, won its 13th overall Division I men's indoor championships. LSU also now has won five consecutive championships in women's indoor track and eight altogether. Arkansas has won six straight outdoor titles. The lone new champion in track was St. Augustine's College -- in Division II women's outdoor track and field.

    New Blood

    Perhaps 1996-97 should be remembered most for its parity. After all, of the 78 men's and women's team championships (excluding three combined men's and women's championships), 29 were captured by first-time winners. A whopping 39 percent of the women's winners were first-time champions, while 36 percent of the men's champions were new winners in the sport.

    Below is a list of first-time winners in 1996-97.

    Men's sports

    II baseball -- Cal State Chico

    I basketball -- Arizona

    III basketball -- Illinois Wesleyan

    I cross country -- Stanford

    III cross country -- Wisconsin-La Crosse

    II football -- Northern Colorado

    I golf -- Pepperdine

    II lacrosse -- New York Tech

    I soccer -- St. John's (New York)

    II soccer -- Grand Canyon

    III soccer -- College of New Jersey

    I swimming -- Auburn

    III tennis -- Washington (Maryland)

    National Collegiate volleyball -- Stanford

    II wrestling -- San Francisco State

    Women's sports

    II basketball -- North Dakota

    III basketball -- New York University

    I cross country -- Stanford

    II/III golf -- Lynn

    National Collegiate gymnastics -- UCLA

    III lacrosse -- Middlebury

    National Collegiate rowing -- Washington

    II softball -- California (Pennsylvania)

    III softball -- Simpson

    I swimming -- Southern California

    II swimming -- Drury

    II tennis -- Lynn

    II outdoor track -- St. Augustine's

    II volleyball -- Nebraska-Omaha --