Cyclones Flying High In NCAA Competition Nationally

AMES, Iowa ? Iowa State's athletics teams were flying high in the fall semester. So high, that ISU ranks third among Big 12 schools and 22nd nationally in the final fall standings of the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup. For the first time since the competition started in 1993-94, four Cyclone fall sports (men's and women's cross country, volleyball and football) scored points.

Schools receive points based on their NCAA or national finish in men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, women's and men's soccer, volleyball and water polo. The Cyclones, despite competing in just five of those sports, were topped only by Oklahoma State and Texas in the standings among Big 12 teams.

It was an incredible fall for Iowa State athletics on the field and in the classroom. The cross country teams both placed among the top 17 schools nationally at the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1990. The Cyclone volleyball team earned its third straight NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen berth and finished the season ranked sixth in the final national poll. Iowa State's football team finished an inspiring season under first-year head coach Paul Rhoads with a winning record and a victory in the Insight Bowl.

ISU athletics director Jamie Pollard gave credit to his coaches and Cyclone student-athletes.

“We had great leadership from our head coaches and our student-athletes have broken new ground to establish a new winning culture that has paid great dividends for everyone involved in the Cyclone athletics program, including our fans,” Pollard said. “More importantly, our current student-athlete graduation rate of 78 percent is an all-time high and our student-athletes also registered a higher GPA than undergraduates this fall.”

Pollard's impact on Iowa State athletics success is affirmed by its across the board national success during the fall of 2009 compared to past seasons. In the four years prior to his arrival at ISU, the Cyclones did not even score points in the fall standings. The improvement since Pollard came to Iowa State in 2005 has been steady. The Cyclones were not ranked for the fall of 2005, ranked 91st nationally in 2006, 68th in 2007 and 43rd in 2008.

Iowa State University Athletics

Cyclones Flying High In NCAA Competition Nationally

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