Mines Ninth In Final Winter Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Following completion of the winter championships, the Colorado School of Mines slid from fifth to ninth in the latest edition of the Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings, which were released on Thursday morning.

The Orediggers got a ninth-place finish from men’s basketball, a 14th-place finish from the men’s indoor track and field squad and a 33rd-place finish from women’s swimming and diving for a total of 163.75 points. Mines’ winter total was added to the fall total of 198.0 points to give them their current total of 361.75, good for ninth in the nation though the winter sports championships.

STANDINGS
SCORING

Mines finished 18th in last year’s final standings and 15th in 2009-2010.

Grand Valley State (Mich.) headlines the list with 550.50 points, while Grand Canyon (Ariz.) is currently second with 527.00 points. Ashland (Ohio), Adams State and Augustana (S.D.) rounded out the top five.

The Men’s basketball team (29-3) finished ninth in the rankings after advancing to its first-ever Central Region Championship game in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. It was the third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and second-straight RMAC regular season championship for the squad, which also captured its first RMAC Shootout Title as well as its first No. 1 national ranking. Brett Green was named an All-American by three different publications and associations, and also garnered RMAC Player of the Year honors. Dale Minschwaner, Trevor Wages and Trevor Ritchie also earned All-RMAC honors and head coach Pryor Orser was named NABC Central District Coach of the Year, RMAC Coach of the Year, and national Coach of the Year by the Basketball Times.

The men’s indoor track and field team earned its seventh top-15 finish since 2000 with a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The distance medley relay squad of Garrett Hoch, Russell Drummond, Mack McLain and Peter Jenkins finished fourth, earning All-American honors. McLain and Drummond each earned All-American honors in the mile as well after finishing second and third, respectively. McLain’s two All-American honors gave him 11 for his career, tying him with Joel Hamilton for the most All-American honors in the history of Colorado School of Mines athletics. Since becoming head coach prior to the 2005-06 season, Art Siemers has guided the Oredigger men's indoor track and field team to 36 All-American honors and two national champions.

The women’s swimming and diving team was led by junior diver Sarah Moore, who earned an 11th-place finish on the 3-meter board and a 15th-place finish on the 1-meter board during her third-straight trip to the NCAA Championships. She earned Honorable Mention All-American honors in both events and also captured RMAC Women’s Diver of the Year honors. 

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

The first Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup spring standings will be published May 24. 

Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. 

About Learfield Sports: The 2011-12 athletics season marks its fourth 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. An operating unit of Learfield Communications, the company also operates regional and statewide radio networks, provides exclusive sports programming to more than 1,000 radio stations nationwide and creates nearly 7,000 radio game broadcasts and coaches’ shows each year. These ever-expanding, collegiate relationships also feature comprehensive corporate sponsorship platforms, official university publications, Internet, digital media, hospitality and game-day events. To learn more about Learfield Sports’ expertise, its history and complete collegiate portfolio, visit www.learfieldsports.com.