2005 Excellence in Athletics Cup Released: Provides Rankings of the Best College Athletic Programs

The Excellence in Athletics Cup research and award program ranked all NCAA Division I athletic programs across 11 different indicators to establish a ranking of university athletic programs.

(PRWEB) August 23, 2005 -- The 2005 Excellence in Athletics Cup rankings for college athletic programs was released by the Laboratory for the Study of Intercollegiate Athletics (LSIA) at Texas A&M University. The rankings provide an analysis of how institutions compare in numerous areas, including on-field success, graduation rates, and gender equity.

The 2005 program used a newly created on-field success measure to assess excellence in athletic competitions for all NCAA Division I teams, for both mens and womens programs. The top 50 finishers in the on-field rankings were also ranked and awarded points in a number of additional criteria. The criteria for the 2005 award included point allocations for 11 different indicators, including on-field success for mens team and womens teams, graduation rate indicators for mens teams, womens teams, and African-American athletes, gender equity indicators, and efficiency in using financial resources.

Michael Sagas, Director of the LSIA stated, "The 2005 Excellence in Athletics Cup recognizes all-around achievements of athletic departments. It acknowledges and compares institutions that are similarly successful on the field or court along a number of additional important indicators."

The 2005 overall national champion was Duke University (860.5 pts), followed by Stanford University (802.5 points), University of Tennessee (726.5 points), University of Florida (722 points), and the University of Texas (699 points).

When assessing program excellence by each of the major indicators in the rankings, the following emerged from the rankings:

Best NCAA Division I programs for:

Mens On-Field Success : University of Texas

Womens On-Field Success: Stanford University

Mens Graduation Rates: Baylor University

Womens Graduation Rates: The Ohio State University

African-American Student-Athlete Graduation Rates: Baylor University

Gender Equity: Stanford University

Financial Efficiency: Stanford University

The purpose of the award is to recognize schools that are excellent in academics and athletics. Duke and the other top finishers are universities that are successful in and out of the classroom." Sagas said.

Complete scoring rules and results are available at http://lsia.tamu.edu.

Contact Michael Sagas at (979) 458-3340 or lsia@tamu.edu.

2005 EA Cup Top 25 Athletic Programs

2005 Final Overall Rankings and Total EA Cup Points

Duke     1    860.5

Stanford    2    802.5

Tennessee     3    726.5

Florida     4    722

Texas      5    699

Arizona State     6    687

Michigan     7    684

USC     8    675.5

Washington     9    667

Arizona     10    663.5

Baylor     11    654.5

Virginia     12    650

Auburn      13    644

Wisconsin     14    628

Ohio State     15    626

Georgia     16    616

Penn State     17    582

UCLA     18    568.5

California     19    565

North Carolina     20    554.5

Notre Dame    21    549.5

Michigan State     22    521

BYU     23    520

Nebraska     24    504

Minnesota     25    494.5

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