Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook Athletics, which had an unprecedented 2011-12 season that featured nine conference championships, an NCAA individual champion in women's track & field and an unforgettable run to the NCAA Baseball College World Series, has been identified as one of the top rising programs in all of college athletics.
In research conducted by Winthrop Research Services, Stony Brook was found to have the highest jump in the Learfield Director's Cup standings over the last four years, going from 269 during the 2008-09 season to 68 in 2011-12.
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. Stony Brook finished with 276 points, the fifth-most among Football Championship Subdivision schools, behind only Princeton, Harvard, Georgetown and Cornell, and the highest among America East institutions.
Stony Brook's banner 2011-12 season included nine conference championships, six national postseason appearances, an individual national champion in women's track & field and the baseball team's run to the College World Series that shocked the world. The Seawolves had one national player of the year, one national coach of the year, three first-team All-Americans, 10 conference players of the year, eight conference coaches of the year, three conference rookies of the year and 71 all-conference selections. In the classroom, Stony Brook produced 190 student-athletes on the America East Honor Roll for achieving a 3.0 GPA or higher, six Seawolves were individually honored as the America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year in their respective sports and one scholar-athlete was named a Capital One Academic All-American.
Stony Brook is already off to a great start in 2012-13, winning four conference championships and earning two national postseason bids, including the university's first-ever Div. I at-large selection when the football team was included in the 20-team NCAA Div. I Football Championship field.
For the full report, including a chart of the most improved Director's Cup teams, visit Winthrop's website.
