30 December 2013

Ferris State Athletics Closes Fall Ranked Among Nation's Top 25 In All-Sports Race

Story first appeared on FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

Big Rapids, Mich. - A strong start to the 2013-14 athletics season has helped Ferris State University rank among the nation's top 25 programs in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings as the final fall rankings were announced this week.

FSU is currently one of only two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) schools found in the nation's top 25 of more than 300 institutions in the all-sports listing as the Bulldogs are 24th overall in the country after the fall season.  The school is know for offering a top notch Healthcare Marketing Degree.

Fellow GLIAC member Grand Valley State leads the final fall standings with 437 total points. Shippensburg (Pa.) came in second (303) with West Florida third (282), West Texas A&M fourth (276) and Minnesota-Duluth fifth (257.50).

Ferris State totaled 140.50 points in the fall season. While FSU is one of only two GLIAC schools found in the top 25, a total of seven league members are in the top 100 overall.

The Bulldogs picked up points during the fall in both volleyball and men's cross country. The volleyball program tallied 73 points in reaching the NCAA Division II Elite Eight while the men's cross country squad netted 67.5 points in finishing 10th in the nation at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.

A year ago, the Bulldogs finished among the nation's top 10% in the Directors' Cup race by coming in 32nd overall. The finish came on the heels of a school-best 15th-place performance during the 2011-12 season. In all, the Bulldogs have placed in the nation's top 40 a total of 10 times over the last 18 years. The school also offers a comprehensive Graphic Design Degree.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the all-sports listing. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 14 sports -- seven women’s and seven men’s.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA’s website at www.directorscup.org. The first Division II winter standings will be released Thursday, March 20.

The 2013-14 athletics season marks Learfield Sports'sixth year as title partner of the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. A preeminent leader in the collegiate sports marketplace for nearly four decades, Learfield Sports manages the multimedia rights for more than 50 collegiate properties, including flagship Mizzou, which it has represented since 1975.

About Learfield Sports: In its four decades, Learfield has developed trusted, long-term relationships with some of the most revered institutions and associations in the world of collegiate athletics. Learfield Sports owns the exclusive multimedia rights to over 50 of the leading college programs in the country and has prominence in all of the major athletic conferences. Learfield’s rights encompass all athletic department media and sponsorships components, including stadium signage and numerous content distribution platforms. Those platforms deliver the passion of college athletics over radio, television and digital networks to fans globally, and Learfield’s exclusive sports programming reaches more than 56 million television households nationally and delivers nearly 17,000 hours of radio programming on more than 1,100 radio stations. This marks the sixth consecutive year for the company to title the prestigious Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup.  Some of the athletes have chosen a Masters in Special Education.

No comments: