UF Athletics Finish Second Nationally

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida athletic program will finish second in the 2009-10 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup – its highest finish ever. The women’s Swimming & Diving and men’s Indoor Track & Field national championships led a program record 14 Gator athletic teams among the nation’s top 10 in 2009-10, propelling Florida to second in the annual national all-sports competition.

Florida last finished as high in 1997-98, when the Gator program tied for second overall.

Florida is the only program in the nation to finish among the nation’s top 10 in each of the last 27 national all-sports standings. These are the first back-to-back top three appearances for the Gator athletic program, as UF finished third in the 2008-09 standings.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, presented annually by the nation’s athletics directors, recognizes the schools with the best overall sports performances in an academic year. Points are awardedbased on finishes and participation in 20 NCAA Division I sports. Although points for the sport of baseball are yet to be added, the top three teams in the final Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup are set. Stanford received its 16th consecutive Directors’ Cup on Wednesday at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention in Anaheim, Calif. Virginia will finish third.

Florida’s 14 top-10 national team finishes in 2009-10, including nine in the top five, is a school record. The previous high of 12 top-10 finishes was equaled five times in the program’s history, including each of the last two seasons. This is the ninth consecutive year that 10 or more Gator athletic teams finished among the nation's top 10.

Two Florida teams claimed 2010 NCAA titles in the span of a week – men’s indoor track & field and women’s swimming & diving. The Gator men’s indoor track & field team used a winning margin of 13 points to claim the program’s first title. The women’s swimming & diving team’s move from fifth to first on the final day of competition gave the program its second crown and first since 1982. The women’s tennis and the men’s outdoor track & field teams finished second in 2010 NCAA competition.

The complete list of Florida's 2009-10 top-10 teams includes:

Women’s Swimming & Diving (No. 1) Men’s Indoor Track & Field (No. 1) Women’s Tennis (No. 2) Men’s Outdoor Track & Field (No. 2) Football (No. 3) Women’s Outdoor Track & Field (No. 3) Women’s Indoor Track & Field (No. 4) Gymnastics (No. 5) Softball (No. T-5) Men’s Swimming & Diving (No. 5) Women’s Cross Country (No. 7) Baseball (No. T-7) Men’s Tennis (No. T-9) Volleyball (No. T-9)

“NCAA titles by women’s swimming & diving and men’s indoor track & field were certainly highlights of a year which saw so many top-10 finishes by Gator teams,” Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley said. “Looking to be among the teams in the hunt at the end is the goal of all of our student-athletes and coaches. We are so fortunatethat they compete so hard and represent the University of Florida so well. We look forward to the future as the Gators continue to work toward more success.”

In Southeastern Conference action, Florida led the league with seven team championships in 2009-10 – baseball, women’s cross country, gymnastics, soccer, women’s tennis, women’s indoor track & field and men’s outdoor track & field. Those titles helped UF sweep the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group SEC All-Sports titles. It was the 20th overall title for UF, 17th women’s and 14th men’s.

Individually, 14 Gators claimed a total of 15 NCAA individual titles in 2010. Senior Gemma Spofforth won her third consecutive 100 backstroke title and joined Shara Stafford, Stephanie Napier and Sarah Bateman on the winning 200-yard freestyle relay. At the men’s swimming national championships, junior Conor Dwyer won the 200 and 500 freestyle titles, while senior Shaune Fraser picked up her second consecutive 200 butterfly crown. In track & field, senior Mariam Kevkhishvili swept the indoor and outdoor shot put titles for the second consecutive year. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, senior Charlotte Browning won the mile and claimed the 1,500-meter run title at the outdoor championships. Senior Evelien Dekkers claimed Florida’s first women’s NCAA javelin title in June. Sophomore Christian Taylor won the triple jump at both the indoor and outdoor championship. Sophomore Jeff Demps won the 60 meter dash at the indoor competition and added the 100 meter title at the outdoor competition. He anchored UF’s champion 4x100-meter relay, which also included Chris Rainey, Jeremy Hall and Terrell Wilks.

Florida was also successful away from the athletic arena in 2009-10. A total of six UF student-athletes earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors. For the second consecutive year, Tim Tebow was named the Academic All-American of the Year for football. Florida’s six honorees is the third-highest total in school history.

Gators by the Numbers 14 top-10 national finishes by 2009-10 teams is the best in school history.

6 Gators named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans.

85 percent Graduation Success Rate for UF, as reported in 2009 NCAA Federal Graduation Rate Data. UF is one of five programs in the 2009-10 Learfield Sports National All-Sports top 10 to post a GSR above 85%. All Gator teams are in good academic standing in latest Academic Progress Report released earlier this month. No team is close to 925 cutoff that leads to sanctions.

10 of the 31 SEC Player of the Year/Athlete of the Year Awards went to Gators - tops in the SEC, next highest is LSU with four.

$55 million contributed since 1990 by the UAA to UF to fund academic endeavors.

More than 1.1 million fans attended 172 home events in 2009-10. Five UF teams ranked among the nation's top 10 in attendance.

2009-10 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings
Rank    School    Total*
1.    Stanford    1508.50
2.    FLORIDA    1237.25
3.    Virginia    1189.25
4.    UCLA    1034.00
5.    Texas A&M    1020.75
6.    Ohio State    1015.50
7.    Florida State  1009.50
8.    California    988.50
9.    North Carolina    984.30
10.   Duke    982.75
*-as of June 23, 2010 – baseball points to be added at conclusion of College World Series UF Annual Finishes in National All-Sports Rankings

Year    UF Finish
1983-84    5th
1984-85    4th
1985-86    8th
1986-87    4th
1987-88    5th
1988-89    9th
1989-90    5th
1990-91    5th
1991-92    5th
1992-93    4th
1993-94    4th
1994-95    5th
1995-96    3rd
1996-97    5th
1997-98    T2nd
1998-99    4th
1999-00    7th
2000-01    7th
2001-02    3rd
2002-03    7th
2003-04    6th
2004-05    6th
2005-06    5th
2006-07    6th
2007-08    6th
2008-09    3rd
2009-10    2nd