Grand Valley State Accepts 2014-15 NACDA Directors' Cup

Grand Valley State Accepts 2014-15 NACDA Directors' Cup

Courtesy of Tim Nott, Grand Valley State Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations

ORLANDO -- Grand Valley State Director of Athletics, Tim Selgo, accepted the 2014-15 Learfield Sports NACDA Directors' Cup Thursday afternoon at a luncheon in Orlando, Florida at the NACDA Convention.

GVSU, which finished on top of NACDA Directors' Cup standings for the 10th time in the last 12 years, scored 965.50 points in 14 sports (7 men/7 women), outdistancing second-place Ashland (720.00) by 265.5 points. Central Missouri finished third (713.00), Lewis fourth (647.75) and Minnesota State rounded out the top five with 617.50 points. GVSU has finished among the top two in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings for 14 consecutive years, recording the top point total for eight consecutive years (2003-04 - 2010-11) and each of the last two years. The Lakers have recorded the 10 highest point totals in Learfield Sports Directors' Cup history. 

The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup trophy, which is commonly known as the all-sports trophy, is presented to the top athletic department in the country. The scoring system is based on the national finishes of seven men's and seven women's sports. 

The Lakers scored 373.0 points in the fall, followed by 287.0 in the winter and 305.5 in the spring. GVSU scored points in 16 sports (9 women/7 men), dropping the points scored by two teams. The Lakers recorded eight top six finishes, highlighted by National Championships in women's soccer and women's cross country. In addition, the men's cross country team and men's indoor track & field team finished second, women's volleyball third, women's outdoor track & field fourth and women's indoor track & field and men's swimming & diving sixth.  

"This is an accomplishment that really reflects on the quality of the student-athletes, coaches and support staff we have at Grand Valley State," said athletic director, Tim Selgo. "Not only did our student-athletes perform well competitively, 68 percent of them achieved a 3.0 GPA or better during this past semester.  I am so proud of how our teams competed throughout the year, while also achieving at a high level in the classroom," added Selgo. 

The Laker women scored a total of 600.50 points in nine sports, counting 550.50 points towards the Directors' Cup in seven sports. GVSU scored 283 points in the fall, 127.50 points in the winter and 140.00 points in the spring. The Lakers averaged 78.64 points in seven women's sports. The GVSU men scored 442.00 total points in seven sports. The Lakers scored 90.00 points in the fall, 159.50 in the winter and 192.50 in the spring for an average of 63.14 points per sport. 

In addition, Grand Valley State student-athletes were able to get it done in the classroom as well as on the playing field. The Lakers are coming off an unprecedented academic year in which nearly 67.8 percent of their student-athletes recorded a GPA of 3.0 or higher. GVSU tallied 292 GLIAC All Academic Excellence/Academic All-GLIAC plaudits during the 2014-15 academic year.

Grand Valley State University also claimed the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) 2014-15 Presidents' Trophy for the 17th consecutive year and  a GLIAC-best 22nd time overall. The Presidents' Trophy, commonly referred to as the All-Sports Trophy, is awarded at the end of each year of competition to the conference member having demonstrated general excellence in all or most sports. The Presidents' Trophy is designed to promote well-rounded athletic programs within each member institution.