On the strength of a national football championship and strong postseason showings in both women's cross country and volleyball, the University of Minnesota Duluth wound up holding down the No. 4 spot in the fall Division II Learfield Sports Director's Cup standings.

The Bulldogs racked up 230 points (100 for football, 66 in cross country and 64 in volleyball) to trail only Grand Valley State University (382 pts.), the University of Massachusetts-Lowell (241 pts.) and the University of Tampa (231 pts) in the all sports competition. The UMD cross country team turned in its highest finish ever -- eighth place -- at the NCAA II championships two months ago while the volleyball Bulldogs advanced to the title game of the NCAA II Central Regional for the fifth straight season.

The Learfield Sports Director's 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 men's and seven women's. UMD fields teams in five of the seven fall sports which are included in the Cup standings.