Mizzou Quotes: Best year ever?

Mizzou has record finish in Learfield Directors' Cup (MUTigers.com)

COLUMBIA, Mo. – What’s already been a banner year for Missouri Athletics has been capped by a record-best finish in the final 2008-09 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, released Monday morning by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

On the heels of strong showings from multiple programs this year on the national level, Missouri finished 36th in the final Directors’ Cup standings, which began in 1993. It eclipsed by one spot Mizzou’s previous best showing, a 37th-place finish in 2002-03.

Twelve of Mizzou’s 20 sport programs scored points for the school in this year’s competition, and seven of those registered top-25 national finishes, which ties the previous high for top-25 finishes in a season by MU (seven in 2004-05 during a 41st- place final standing). Sports scoring this season for Mizzou included:

Men’s Basketball – 5th
Softball – 7th
Wrestling – 7th
Gymnastics – 13th
Football – 16th
Soccer – 17th
Men’s Indoor Track – 20th
Women’s Swimming – 28th
Men’s Outdoor Track – 30th
Baseball – 33rd
Women’s Outdoor Track – 52nd
Women’s Indoor Track – 60th

The great showing continued the remarkable transformation of Tiger Athletics under the guidance of Director of Athletics Mike Alden Since Alden took over prior to the 1998-99 season, Mizzou’s average annual finish in the NACDA standings has been 47th (that has improved to an average of 42nd over the last seven years). In the first five years of the Directors’ Cup standings, and prior to Alden’s arrival at Mizzou (1993-94 through 1997-98), Mizzou’s average annual finish in the standings was 98th.

Here’s a yearly recap of how Mizzou has fared each year in the NACDA standings:

1993-94 – 50th
1994-95 – 105th
1995-96 – 133rd
1996-97 – 119th
1997-98 – 85th
1998-99 – 70th
1999-2000 – 52nd
2000-01 – 49th
2001-02 – 53rd
2002-03 – 37th
2003-04 – 46th
2004-05 – 41st
2005-06 – 48th
2006-07 – 53rd
2007-08 – 38th
2008-09 – 36th

In relation to the Big 12 Conference, Mizzou’s 36th-place finish was good enough to rate 7th-best in the league. The schools with the four largest operational budgets – Texas (6th), Texas A&M (13th), Oklahoma (29th) and Nebraska (31st) – finished in the top four. Baylor (33rd) and Oklahoma State (35th) just edged out the Tigers for the next rung on the ladder.