PROVO — After a strong showing in nearly all of its fall sports, BYU is at No. 4 in the latest United States Sports Academy Division I Sears Director's Cup standings, an annual ranking in overall athletic excellence of universities in national competition.

BYU's fourth-place rank is its highest ever in the rankings, thanks to a second-place NCAA finish by the women's cross country team, a tie for fifth place by the women's soccer team that reached the Elite Eight, a tie for 17th for the women's volleyball team that reached the second round of the national tournament, and the men's cross country team's 19th-place NCAA finish.

With 248 points after fall sports, BYU trails only three universities in the Dec. 30 ranking — Michigan (413), UCLA (298) and Stanford (289).The Dec. 30 standings are based on the completion of women and men's cross country, field hockey, I-AA football, women and men's soccer and volleyball. BYU scored well in every sport they competed in, with 90 points from the women's cross country team, 35 from the men's cross country team, 73 from the women's soccer team and 50 from the women's volleyball team.

Football, although a fall sport, didn't have national finishes finalized until after the Dec. 30 rankings.

Previously, the Cougars have recorded two fifth- and two seventh-place fall finishes; last year, the Cougars placed 20th overall in the final rankings. Since the Sears Directors' Cup was first awarded during the 1993-1994 season, BYU has been ranked in the top 15 during fall standings nine times.

The USSA 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 20 sports — 10 women's and 10 men's. Each national champion receives 100 points.