Jan. 12, 2012

CLEVELAND - Maryland finished eighth in the the final fall Division I Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings which were released Thursday.

The Terps have 228 points. Stanford leads the way with 382 and Florida State is second (351).

Maryland's ranking was bolstered by winning the field hockey national championship and placing ninth in both men's and women's soccer.

North Carolina occupies the third spot with 329 total points. UCLA (328) and Michigan (272) round out the top five.

The ACC has four institutions in the top nine. Duke is ninth with 225 points.

All fall NCAA championships have been completed with the following institutions capturing titles: men's cross country - Wisconsin; women's cross country - Georgetown; women's soccer - Stanford; men's soccer - North Carolina; men's water polo - Southern California; volleyball - UCLA, FBS football - Alabama and FCS football - North Dakota State .

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 20 sports -- 10 women's and 10 men's.

The first winter Division I standings will be released Thursday, March 22.