The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/544673
INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Michigan Records Top-20 Directors' Cup Finish Following a rocky fall sports season in which only two of the Wolverines' seven sports teams qualified for the postseason, earning 122.0 Directors' Cup points, U-M rebounded in the winter (395.75 points) and spring (353.00) to finish 19th in this year's final ranking of the top athletic departments in the country. The Maize and Blue have finished in the top-20 five consecutive years, dating back to the 2010- 11 campaign. They ranked fourth among Big Ten programs this year, trailing Ohio State (No. 7), Penn State (No. 8) and Wisconsin (No. 18). The Michigan softball team was the top point- producing program for the Wolverines in 2014- 15, earning 90 points for its runner-up finish at the Women's College World Series. U-M also received top-10 finishes from men's swimming and diving (third), men's gymnastics (fourth), women's gymnastics (seventh), women's tennis (ninth) and women's rowing (10th). The "Big Three" — football, men's basketball and ice hockey — did not score points for the Maize and Blue this season. Football finished 5-7 and failed to qualify for a bowl game, bas- ketball went 16-16 and missed the NCAA Tour- nament, while hockey also failed to earn an NCAA Tournament berth with a mark of 22-15. The addition of Maryland and Rutgers both buoyed and deflated the Big Ten this past year. The Terrapins finished 33rd in the Directors' Cup standings while Rutgers ranked 104th — the worst mark in the conference. Overall, the 14 Big Ten institutions held an average rank of No. 38. The SEC was the country 's top conference, with an average ranking of 31 among its 14 universities, while the Pac-12 shared second place with the Big Ten (38th). The ACC's 15 pro- grams (including Notre Dame, which is not a full member in football) notched an average rank of 42nd, and the Big 12's 10 programs had an aver- age finish of 43rd. DIRECTOR'S CUP STANDINGS FOR 2014-15 Rk. School Points 1. Stanford 1,448.00 2. UCLA 1,236.00 3. USC 1,209.00 4. Florida 1,188.50 5. North Carolina 1,152.00 6. Virginia 1,129.50 7. Ohio State* 1,087.00 8. Penn State* 1,060.75 9. Texas 1,057.50 10. Notre Dame 1,010.25 11. Florida State 1,000.50 12. California 937.25 13. Oregon 933.50 14. Georgia 931.00 15. LSU 930.25 16. Arkansas 912.50 17. Texas A&M 892.75 18. Wisconsin* 886.00 19. Michigan* 870.75 20. Duke 815.00 26. Minnesota* 741.00 31. Illinois* 674.00 33. Maryland* 644.75 34. Michigan State* 644.00 39. Nebraska* 570.00 44. Iowa* 535.50 50. Northwestern* 499.00 60. Purdue* 405.00 61. Indiana* 403.50 104. Rutgers* 187.00 * Big Ten programs