June 19, 2009
(portions of this release courtesy of Mark Adkins, Wartburg College sports information director)

CLEVELAND, OHIO . . . All nine Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) are represented in the final 2008-09 Learfield Sports Division III Directors’ Cup standings released today, led by Wartburg College, which achieved a ninth consecutive top-25 finish in the competition.

Wartburg, with 669 points, ranked No. 16 on the final 2008-09 standings released today by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. It’s the highest rank of any Iowa public or private four-year college or university in any division.

The Knights ended the 2008-09 year with national championships in wrestling and indoor and outdoor women’s track and field to go along with team national tournament/meet appearances in women’s cross country, men’s outdoor track and field, men’s soccer, women’s golf, baseball, softball, and football.

Luther, with top-10 finishes in women's cross country (seventh), wrestling (ninth), and men's tennis (tie, ninth) and NCAA tournament appearances in softball and women's tennis, finished in 54th place with 277 points.

Coe, the national runner-up in softball, a fourth-place finisher in wrestling, and NCAA Division III meet participants in women's indoor and outdoor track & field, scored 261.50 points to place 59th.

Powered by a semifinal-round finish in men's soccer, Loras tied for 73rd place with 229 points. The Duhawks also recorded NCAA national tournament/meet appearances in wrestling, women's soccer, volleyball, women's indoor and outdoor track & field, and men's indoor track & field.

Central placed 124th with 154.5 points after NCAA appearances in men's golf, softball, men's outdoor track & field, and women's outdoor track & field.

Buena Vista finished in 132nd place with 145.5 points behind top-8 finishes in men's indoor track & field (fifth) and men's outdoor track & field (eighth).

Simpson received 129.5 points and placed 143rd after team national tournament/meet appearances in volleyball, women's basketball, and women's indoor and outdoor track & field.

Cornell tied for 159th place with 107 points following an eighth-place finish in wrestling and NCAA tournament/meet appearances in men's basketball and women's indoor track & field.

Dubuque placed 220th with 66 points behind an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship.

The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's national championship finish in up to 18 sports -- nine women's and nine men's. Each national champion receives 100 points.

Williams College of Massachusetts, winning its 11th consecutive Division III Directors’ Cup championship, claimed the top spot with 1066.5 points. Middlebury College of Vermont and Amherst College of Massachusetts rounded out the top three.

Final 2008-09 Learfield Sports Division III Director's Cup standings

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