University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels 4th in Sears Cup
June 26, 2002 | General
June 26, 2002
The University of North Carolina has finished fourth in the nation in the 2001-02 Division I Sears Cup standings released today by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
The Tar Heels scored 1065.5 points this year. Stanford won the Sears Cup for the eighth consecutive year with 1499 points. UNC is the only school other than Stanford to win the Division I title since the award was created in 1993-94. Carolina finished first in the award's inaugural season.
"I am very proud of this finish and thankful to our outstanding student-athletes, coaches and staff," says Director of Athletics Dick Baddour. "It truly takes a team effort from a group of dedicated people to have a season like we did."
"It is especially gratifying to finish where we did when you consider the fact we have less financial resources and more sports with which to distribute those resources than probably any other school that finished in the Top 10. Our student-athletes and coaches are committed to excellence and continue to make their University proud."
Points are awarded by virtue of a school's NCAA postseason finish in up to 10 men's and 10 women's sports (based upon the number of teams in each championship format).
The Cardinal was followed in the Top 5 by the University of Texas (1110.5), the University of Florida (1078), North Carolina and UCLA (1026).
Carolina's fourth-place finish marks the seventh time in nine years the Tar Heels have placed in the Top 10 in the country. This is also the eighth time in nine years UNC is the highest-finishing school in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Carolina was followed by three other ACC schools in the Top 30, including Clemson (26th), Virginia (27th) and Duke (30th). Other ACC finishes included Florida State (39th), Wake Forest (42nd), Maryland (44th), NC State (46th) and Georgia Tech (50th). No other major conference in America had all of its institutions in the Top 50.
The Tar Heels scored in eight spring sports. The women's track and field team placed eighth and scored 76 points, women's lacrosse was third and scored 75 points, men's golf was 17th and posted 67 points, women's tennis was fifth for 60 points, women's golf was 46th for 37 points, men's track and field was 48th and received 33 points, baseball was 17th and received 30 points, and men's tennis was 33rd and scored 20 points.
Carolina was second behind Stanford after the fall. The Tar Heels scored 305 points in five fall sports, including men's soccer (1st place), women's soccer (2nd), women's cross country (7th), field hockey (9th) and volleyball (17th).
UNC tacked on 412.5 points in the winter by scoring in eight sports. Those sports included women's track and field (5th place), women's basketball (9th), men's track and field (12th), women's swimming (13th), gymnastics (19th), fencing (26th), men's swimming (31st) and wrestling (37th).
