Baylor Finishes 32nd In Directors' Cup Standings

General 6/29/2006 12:00:00 AM

June 29, 2006

With a school-record 13 of its 18 teams participating in postseason play, Baylor recorded its second-highest finish ever in the final U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings with its 32nd-place ranking nationally in 2005-06, which also placed it fifth among Big 12 institutions.

Last year's program-best 25th-place finish coupled with this year's performance marked Baylor's best back-to-back finishes ever in the nation's all-sports sweepstakes. Stanford won the award for the 12th consecutive year.

"Having our two best all-sports performances in consecutive years is a clear and powerful signal that Baylor Athletics is on the rise," said Baylor Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. "We are fortunate that all 18 sport programs are pointed in the right direction, and that is a credit to our coaches, staff and student-athletes."

In 2005-06, Baylor produced one NCAA national team semifinalist among its school-record 13 postseason entrants, three Big 12 Conference team championships (two regular-season titles and one tournament crown), an NCAA individual national champion and 29 All-Americans. Baylor joined Texas (11), Colorado (two), Oklahoma (two) and Texas A&M (two) as the only Big 12 institutions to win more than one 2005-06 regular-season conference title.

Baylor totaled 511 points to place fifth among all Big 12 institutions in the national all-sports rankings behind No. 3 Texas, No. 19 Nebraska, No. 23 Texas A&M and No. 30 Oklahoma State. Just 1.5 points behind No. 31 Brigham Young and 5.5 behind Oklahoma State, Baylor finished ahead of Big 12 institutions Oklahoma (No. 37), Colorado (No. 41), Missouri (No. 48), Kansas (No. 60), Kansas State (No. 94) and Iowa State (No. 97).

Baylor's men's tennis team kept its grip on the Big 12 regular-season title by winning its fifth straight crown (sixth overall), advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight season and reaching the national semifinals for the third consecutive year. The Bears ended the year ranked fourth nationally after losing to then-top-ranked and No. 1 seeded Georgia, 4-3, in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. The national ranking tied for the third-best season-ending finish in school history, while the squad's 25-7 record allowed it to post the fifth-highest single-season win total in school history.

The Baylor women's tennis team, meanwhile, swept the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles for the first time in school history and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. Baylor won a school-record 28 matches (against only four losses) in 2005-06 and closed the spring ranked sixth nationally. The Bears posted an 11-0 mark against Big 12 teams during the regular-season. Coach Joey Scrivano was named both the Big 12 Conference and ITA Regional Coach of the Year, while Zuzana Zemenova earned Big 12 Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. Zuzana Cerna was named the ITA Regional Player to Watch and teammate Zuzana Krchnakova won the Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship.

Behind the play of consensus All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year Sophia Young, the Baylor Lady Bears advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season and reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth consecutive year with a final overall record of 26-7. Baylor, one of seven teams to have made the Sweet 16 in each of the last three seasons (Connecticut, Duke, Tennessee, Stanford, LSU and Georgia are the others), finished second in the Big 12 with its 12-4 record. Young ended her career as the Big 12's all-time leader in points (2,480 points), rebounds (1,316), double-doubles (61) and rebound average (9.5 rpg) en route to becoming the first two-time Kodak All-American in school history.

The Baylor football team produced its first five-win season in a decade and just missed its first bowl bid since 1994 with a 5-6 record that included a pair of heartbreaking overtime road losses. The Bears snapped a 24-game overall road losing string with a season-opening 27-24 victory at SMU, a 37-game road losing streak in Big 12 play with their 20-10 win at Iowa State (Baylor's first-ever Big 12 road win) and posted their first-ever two-win Big 12 campaign while finishing higher than sixth in the South Division for the first time ever with a fifth-place showing. Outside safety Willie Andrews became the first, two-time first-team All-Big 12 coaches selection in school history, while punter Daniel Sepulveda became the first Bear since 1963 (and just the third ever) to earn academic and athletic All-America honors in the same football season. All-told, the Bears had a school-record 12 All-Big 12 performers.

Baylor baseball advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year and the eighth time in the past nine seasons en route to a 37-26 overall record. The Bears reached the 30-win mark for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. Catcher Zach Dillon, a semifinalist for the 2006 Johnny Bench Award, earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches and was named the Big 12 Player of the Year by the San Antonio Express News. Baylor shortstop Beemer Weems was selected to the 2006 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America Team.

The Baylor softball team earned its third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and finished third in the Big 12 Conference regular-season standings, its highest finish ever. The Lady Bears ended the season 38-22 overall, 12-6 in the conference and 20th in the final coaches poll. Third baseman Brette Regan was a second-team NFCA All-America pick who also earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors while catcher Chelsi Lake was a third-team All-America selection. Baylor and Oklahoma were the only two Big 12 schools to place two players on the organization's All-America squads.

Baylor's lone individual NCAA champion came from its men's track program, as freshman Jacob Norman won the NCAA Indoor 60-meter dash title in a school-record time of 6.56 to help the Bears place eighth with 21 points in the team standings. Reggie Witherspoon was named Big 12 Conference Indoor Track & Field Men's Performer of the Year while Norman was selected as the league's Indoor Freshman of the Year. Witherspoon scored 22.5 points to earn the Big 12 Indoor High Point Performer honor as won both the 200- and 400-meters, an unprecedented feat at Baylor, then led off the Bears' victorious 4x400-meter relay which won its ninth-straight conference crown. Norman captured the 60 meters and Kevin Mutai took gold in the 600-yard run as Baylor equaled its highest ever indoor league finish with its third-place total of 79 points.

The Baylor women's track team, meanwhile, tied for fourth overall at the Big 12 Indoor Championships with 61 points and had a pair of champions in Erin Bedell in the 3,000 meters and the 4x400-meter relay. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, the women placed in a tie for 45th with four points, all of which were scored by the fifth-place performance of the distance medley relay team.

Springtime in Central Texas brought the Big 12 Conference Men's and Women's Outdoor Track Championships to Waco for the first time since 1999 and the third time in the league's 10-year history. The BU women finished fifth in the team standings with 83 points and one champion (mile relay), while the men were wound up seventh with 67 points and had four champions (Chris Gillis in the long jump, Reggie Witherspoon in the 400 meters, the 4x100-meter relay and the mile relay).

At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Baylor men's 4x400-meter relay unit ran a season-best 3:02.93 to finish third, the 27th straight year the Bears have earned All-America honors in the event and the 21st time in that stretch they've finished in the top three. The men scored 13 points in the meet to tie for 20th in the final team standings with Wil Fitts and Gillis earning All-America honors in the 800-meter run (eighth) and long jump (third), respectively. The Baylor women picked up their 10th All-America honor in the 4x400-meter relay, and first since 2002, with a fifth-place finish, while Angel Perkins was ninth in the 400 meters to garner All-America status. As a team, Baylor tied for 47th with four points.

In its first season of varsity competition, the women's equestrian program qualified for the Varsity Equestrian Championships, hosted by New Mexico State. The 10th-seeded Bears' English team placed eighth in its first national championship meet. The Varsity Championships is an invitation-only tournament whose participants are decided upon by the Selection Committee. Baylor was the only first-year program invited to the 2006 championships.

Other highlights from Baylor's successful 2005-06 athletic year included:

The rebuilding of the Bears' men's basketball fortunes continued, as Baylor won its final four home games in 2006 to finish with a 4-13 record. Aaron Bruce earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches, while Curtis Jerrells was selected to the coaches Big 12 All-Rookie team and named to the conference All-Freshman team by the league media. Jerrells was also selected as a freshman All-American by collegeinsider.com.

The Baylor women's cross country squad advanced to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year, where it placed 15th, the highest finish for the program since a third-place performance in 1998 and its third-highest national finish in school history. The team also placed third at the Big 12 Conference Championships.

The women's golf team advanced to NCAA Regional competition for the seventh consecutive season and placed sixth at the Big 12 Championships.

The Bears' men's golf team earned its ninth straight NCAA Regional appearance and placed seventh at the Big 12 Championships. Ryan Baca earned first-team PING All-America honors. He broke the school's single-season stroke average record by more than a full stroke at 70.59, recording three straight victories, six top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes and never finishing outside the top 25 in all 13 competitions. Baca became the school's all-time leader in victories (six) and top-five finishes (27). He qualified for the 2006 U.S. Open and was selected to play for the United States' eight-member Palmer Cup Team, which will square off against Europe in a Ryder Cup-style format June 29-30 in Prestwick, Scotland.

The Baylor volleyball team recorded a 3-1 victory over eventual 2005 NCAA Tournament participant Texas A&M to post its first win at College Station since 1992.

The women's soccer team scored a 2-1 victory over 2005 NCAA Tournament entrant Iowa State.

While Baylor Athletics enjoyed extraordinary academic and athletic success, 2005-06 also saw the following administrative achievements:

Baylor successfully completed the NCAA certification process being cited as one of only two institutions in the certification program's history to have no issues raised in its self-study.

Improved athletic development success has provided the funding and completion of the Grant Teaff and Letterwinners Plazas at Floyd Casey Stadium; the Lt. Jack Whetsel Jr. Basketball Practice Facility; the Willis Family Equestrian Center; and numerous other projects. The athletic endowment has grown to $20 million while the Baylor Bear Foundation had its best year ever in 2005-06.

Baylor football averaged 38,899 fans for its five-game 2005 home schedule to finish No. 63 nationally, a jump from No. 72 in 2004 and an increase of more than 10,000 fans per game since 2002. Student attendance increased 12 percent from 4,619 in 2004 to 5,234 in 2005.

The women's basketball team exceeded the 100,000 mark in total home attendance for the first time ever. The Lady Bears ranked No. 8 nationally in home attendance with a school-record average of 7,719 fans per game. The recently-completed year also saw a program-best 4,983 season tickets sold, a 26 percent increase from 2004-05.

Attendance at Baylor men's basketball home games increased 30 percent from 4,437 in 2004-05 to 6,357 in 2005-06. It marked only the third time in the Ferrell Center's 18-year history that Baylor averaged more than 6,000 fans for the season. Public season ticket sales increased by 11 percent, while student attendance increased 41 percent from 523 in 2004-05 to 880 per game.

Baylor's season baseball home attendance total of 96,427 was a regular-season school record and ranked second all-time at Baylor. In 2006, Baylor Ballpark saw the second- and third-largest crowds in school history, as well as the second-largest midweek crowd, the largest two-date series crowd and the fourth-largest three-game series total. Season ticket sales for baseball increased for the first time since 2001 to 2,202, an increase of nine percent.

Baylor softball sold a school record 290 season tickets and produced the largest Getterman Stadium crowd in school history, 1,475. With one quarter remaining, Baylor is on pace to top the $200,000 mark in licensing royalties for the first time ever and surpass last year's school record total of $189,303 (which was an increase of 26 percent from 2003-04). In effort to encourage merchandise sales, a Bear Backer Retailer Program was implemented.

Baylor's first-ever student attendance loyalty program, the Golden Rewards program, started.

On-line store revenue achieved the second-best year in school history with close to $100,000 in 2005-06 sales. Baylor's on-line store revenue has increased by 900 percent from 2003-04 to 2004-05 ($25,820 to $258,531).

Through its relationship with ISP Sports, Baylor football returned to the airwaves in San Antonio and its radio coverage for football in the Houston area improved with a switch in stations. More Baylor basketball games than ever were broadcast in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on WBAP and its family of stations.

Forty-three Baylor athletic contests in six sports were televised in 2005-06.

The Baylor Athletic Media Relations Office received 13 national publications awards from the College Sports Information Directors of America, including Best in the Nation citations for the school's women's basketball media guide as well as the covers of its cross country media guide and baseball game program.

BaylorVision produced 147 events in 2005-06.

Baylor Athletics produced two DVDs in 2005-06, "Experience The Dogpile", a tribute to the Bears' 2005 College World Series team, and "Cotton Bowl Bound," the story of Grant Teaff's 1980 Southwest Conference championship football team.

The official web site of Baylor Athletics, www.baylorbears.com, has averaged a school-record 99,852 unique visitors per month in 2005-06. Those visitors have accounted for more than 10.2 million page views.

Baylor Athletics hosted the week-long FCA Summer Sports Camps for the second consecutive year.

Baylor's All-Time Directors' Cup Finishes1993-1994    1091994-1995     641995-1996    1201996-1997    1251997-1998     651998-1999     391999-2000     432000-2001     542001-2002     402002-2003     692003-2004     472004-2005     252005-2006     32

Stanford University won the 2005-06 Directors' Cup in the NCAA Division I for a record 12th consecutive year. The award is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), United States Sports Academy and USA TODAY to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country.

The Cardinal completed the year with 1,197.375 points, surpassing runner-up UCLA by 126 points. Stanford won its 12th straight Directors' Cup with national championships in women's cross country and tennis and runner-up finishes in women's indoor track and field and men's water polo. The Cardinal placed 11 additional teams in the top 10.

Rounding out the top five are the University of Texas, in third with 966 points; University of North Carolina, in fourth with 952.75 points; and the University of Florida, in fifth with 913 points.

Developed as a joint effort between USA Today and NACDA, the United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup program is the only all-sports competition that recognizes the institution in each of the four categories with the best overall athletics program.

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