Stanford Women Capture Second Consecutive Capital One Cup Title
By BigLeadSports
The Stanford University women’s athletics program claimed the Capital One Cup for the second consecutive season, tallying a record 152.5 points across the fall, winter and spring athletics seasons. The Capital One Cup honors the best men’s and women’s NCAA® Division I athletics programs in the country.
Stanford outlasted Pac-12 rival UCLA (110 points) for the title, as the Bruins held the early lead after the Capital One Cup’s fall standings, thanks to its volleyball national title and No. 7 finish in the final soccer coaches’ poll. Alabama (100 points), which finished in third place in the Capital One Cup standings, made a late–season run at the trophy, highlighted by national championships in softball and golf this spring. Sitting outside the top 20 in the Capital One Cup standings in late May, the Crimson Tide bolted to their best finish, topping last year’s finish in which they tied for 18th place.
“Stanford is very excited to repeat as the women’s Capital One Cup winner, especially in the year Title IX celebrates its 40th anniversary,” said Bob Bowlsby, Stanford Director of Athletics. “Stanford has a long, proud history of being a leader in women’s athletics and this award helps demonstrate that. Thank you to Capital One for your continued support of collegiate athletics.”
Below are the official Capital One Cup final standings for the 2011 – 2012 season, with the top-10 point earners in women’s athletics listed. The complete standings can be found at CapitalOneCup.com/standings or Facebook.com/CapitalOneCup.
Women’s Capital One Cup Final Standings
1 Stanford – 152.5
2 UCLA – 110
3 Alabama – 100
4 LSU – 92
5 Duke – 83
6 Oregon – 80
7 USC – 77
8 Cal – 72
9 Florida – 65
10 Maryland – 62
This is the second year of the Capital One Cup. Schools earn points based on their teams’ Top 10 finishes in NCAA Division I championships and in final official coaches’ polls across 19 men’s and 20 women’s sports as they compete to win the Capital One Cup trophy and a combined $400,000 to fund scholarships for student-athletes. The Capital One Cup winners will be determined at the end of the spring season and honored at the ESPY Awards in July.