FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BATES FINISHES 45TH IN 2001-02 SEARS DIRECTORS' CUP

LEWISTON, Maine —The Bates College athletic program finished 45th out of 396 NCAA Division III institutions competing and 298 that scored points in the final 2001-02 Sears Directors' Cup standings.

Presented by Sears and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the Directors' Cup honors institutions maintaining a broad-based program, achieving success in many sports, both men's and women's. Began in 1993-94 for NCAA Division I by NACDA and USA Today, it was expanded in 1995-96 to include Division II, III and the NAIA. Teams receive points based on their performances at NCAA and NAIA championships, with Division III institutions scoring points in up to 18 sports.

With 266.5 points, Bates' 45th-place finish is the second best in school history, behind a 35th-place spot in 1999-2000. The Bobcats were fifth among teams from the 11-member New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), their best performance since finishing fourth in 1997-98. NESCAC member Williams won its sixth cup in the seven years that the award has been presented. Five conference schools finished in the top 50 and eight were among the top 60.

Bates scored Directors' Cup points in six sports in 2001-02. The Bobcats' best finish came at the NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships, where they tied for eighth place, the school's best NCAA effort in any sport since 1996. In the winter season, the Bobcat ski team was 15th in the nation, competing against Division I, II and III school. Men's tennis, the only sport in which Bates qualified an entire team, placed 17th overall. The Bobcats also received Directors' Cup points in women's outdoor track and field and men's and women's swimming and diving. Eleven Bates athletes were named All-Americans in 2001-02, including the school's first-ever in the sports of men's lacrosse and women's rowing.

The Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. It is administered by NACDA and sponsored by Sears, Roebuck and Co. There are four Sears Directors' Cup Awards, one to honor the institution with the best all around athletics program in each of the NCAA's Divisions I, II and III and the NAIA. The winner of the award receives a trophy designed by Waterford Crystal, which tours the country, appearing at major men and women's events throughout the year.

2001-02 NACDA/Sears Directors' Cup Final Standings
Top Ten
1.	Williams (Mass.)          989
2.	Ithaca (N.Y.)             852
3. 	College of New Jersey     751
4.	Middlebury (Vt.)          703.5
5.	Emory (Ga.)               673
6.	Wisc.-Stevens Point       656.5
7.	Amherst (Mass.)           623
8.	Wisc.-Osh Kosh            552
9.	Wisc.-LaCrosse            512
10.	Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) 509


New England and NESCAC Institutions in the Top 100
24.	Wheaton (Mass.)           350
27.	Bowdoin (Maine)           341.5
36.	Mass. Inst. of Tech.      298.5
45. Bates (Maine)         266.5
48.	Springfield (Mass.)       257.5
55.	Trinity (Conn.)           236.5
58.	Colby (Maine)             230.5
59.	Tufts                     228		
61.	Western Conn. St.         220
63.	Brandeis (Mass.)          218
67.	Keene (N.H.) St.          207
69.	Eastern Conn. St.         202
89.	Hamilton (N.Y.)           164.5

Complete standings