Story Courtesy of NACDA

CLEVELAND, OH – In the first spring Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, Grand Canyon University rose to first place with 833.00 total points.

The Antelopes moved from second to first by finishing third in women’s golf, fifth in men’s tennis and 17th in both women’s tennis and softball.

(Editor's Note - This release was posted prior to the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships being contest. Grand Canyon strengthened its position by finishing fifth nationally in the women's event and 10th nationally in the men's comeptition.)

Grand Valley State (Mich.) is now in second place with 724.00 points. The Lakers finished seventh in women’s golf, 21st in men’s golf, 32nd in women’s tennis and 33rd in softball.

Ashland (Ohio) is in third place with 609.50 total points. The Eagles finished 17th in women’s golf and softball and 61st in men’s golf.

In fourth place with 595.00 total points is Augustana (S.D.). The Vikings finished seventh in softball, 10th in women’s golf and 17th in women’s tennis.

Indianapolis (Ind.) rounds out the top five with 534.75 total points. The Greyhounds finished ninth in women’s golf, 11th in men’s golf and 33rd in softball.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference placed two institutions in the top five, Grand Valley State (2nd) and Ashland (3rd).

Six spring NCAA championships have been completed with the following institutions capturing titles: women’s golf, men’s golf – Nova Southeastern (Fla.); women’s lacrosse – C.W. Post (N.Y.) softball – Valdosta State (Ga.); women’s tennis, men’s tennis – Armstrong Atlantic (Ga.).

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 final Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings will be published June 6.

Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA’s website at www.directorscup.org.

In addition, please visit www.thedirectorscup.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/lsdirectorscup or follow us on Twitter @lsdirectorscup.

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.