A total of 13 top-10 finishes in national championships led the Florida athletics program to fourth overall in the 2010-11 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup.
It is Florida's third consecutive top four finish in the rankings. A pair of NCAA titles highlighted Florida's finishes, as eight teams placed among the nation's top five.
"There was much to celebrate this season with so many Gator teams performing so well in NCAA competition - including national titles for the women's tennis and men's indoor track & field teams," Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley said. "Our teams and coaches work very hard to contend for a spot among the nation's best. We certainly enjoy watching them compete as they represent this University very well. It all starts again this August and we look forward to what the next season holds."
Florida is the only program to finish among the nation's top 10 in each of the last 28 national all-sports standings. The Gator program turned in its top finish of second last year.
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, presented annually by the nation's athletics directors, recognizes the schools with the best overall sports performances in an academic year. Points are awarded based on finishes and participation in 20 NCAA Division I sports. Stanford received its 17th consecutive Directors' Cup at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention earlier this month. Ohio State was second and California took third.
Florida's 13 top-10 national team finishes in 2010-11 is the second-highest in school history, just one away from the program's record of 14 set last year. This is the 10th consecutive year that 10 or more Gator athletic teams finished among the nation's top 10.
Two Florida teams earned NCAA titles in 2011 - women's tennis and men's indoor track & field - with both wins coming at the home venue of the runner-up. The win was the second consecutive for the Gator men's indoor track & field team, as UF used a 12-point margin over Texas A&M to take the trophy in College Station, Texas. Florida's women's tennis team claimed their fifth NCAA title with a thrilling 4-3 win over Stanford. The win halted top-seeded Stanford's NCAA-record 184 consecutive home-match win streak and its 47-match overall win streak.
It was a banner season at UF. As reported by Gatorsports.com on Monday, the UF men's program won the inaugural Capital One Cup and the women finished fourth. The Capital One Cup honors NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men's and women's sports. The school will be formally honored along with the women's Capital One Cup winner, Stanford, at the ESPY Awards televised by ESPN on July 13, during which the Capital One Cup trophy will be presented along with a $200,000 donation to fund student-athlete graduate-level scholarships.
Florida claimed a total of nine conference titles in 2010-11, including the program's newest sport winning the American Lacrosse Conference crown. In Southeastern Conference action, Florida matched the league's and the program's record with eight team championships in 2010-11 - baseball, men's basketball, women's cross country, men's golf, soccer, women's tennis, men's indoor track & field and volleyball. Those titles helped UF sweep the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group SEC All-Sports titles. It was the 21st overall title for UF, 18th women's and 15th men's.
Individually, eight Gators claimed a total of six NCAA individual titles in 2011. Senior Brett Fraser won the 200 freestyle title and joined Conor Dwyer, Sebastien Rousseau and Jeffrey Raymond on the winning 800-yard freestyle relay. The NCAA triple jump titles went to a pair of Gator juniors, with Will Claye taking the indoor win and Christian Taylor claiming the outdoor crown. Junior Jeff Demps successfully defended his 60 meter dash title at the NCAA Indoor Championships. At the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, sophomore Marissa King became the first Gator since 1998 to win an event title, claiming the vault crown.
Florida was also successful away from the athletic arena in 2010-11. A total of five UF student-athletes earned Capital One Academic All-America honors. Of the top 10 programs in the 2010-11 Learfield Sports Director's Cup Standings, Florida is one of five to post a NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 82 percent or higher in 2010.
