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By Chris Umpierre

Daily Bruin Staff

The UCLA athletic department provided some more evidence this past season that Sports Illustrated wasn’t too far off when it tabbed UCLA as the No. 1 jock school in 1997.

UCLA finished the 1999-2000 season as the second best overall collegiate athletic program in the nation, according to the Sears Directors Cup standings. Spearheaded by five national titles, the Bruins scored 1103.5 to finish 166 points behind first place Stanford (1269.5).

It was UCLA’s seventh straight top five finish and best performance in the Sears Cup standings since the 1995-1996 season.

“I thought we had a great overall year,” UCLA Associate Athletic Director of recruiting Michael Sondheimer said. “Finishing second is a major accomplishment for us.

“UCLA has had a lot of great years but this was the best in a few years,” he added.

The Bruins won national titles this past season in men’s water polo, women’s indoor track and field, women’s gymnastics, men’s volleyball, and women’s water polo. Since women’s water polo is not yet a NCAA sponsored sport, however, it was not taken into consideration.

The five national titles was UCLA’s highest total since the 1983-84 season.

And if the Bruins received a timely hit, kicked the ball just right, or had been injury-free, several other UCLA sports could have brought more hardware to Westwood.

The UCLA softball team lost the championship game to Oklahoma 3-1 but had an excellent chance to win the game in the final inning. With runners at first and second with two outs, centerfielder Crissy Buck was called out for leaving early as she attempted to steal third base.

The Bruin men’s soccer team lost a four-overtime semifinal game 3-2 to eventual NCAA champion Indiana.

The UCLA men’s tennis team was picked by many to challenge for the NCAA title but their hopes were severely damaged when the Bruins’ No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles player Brandon Kramer fractured his right wrist three days before tournament play.

Despite the close calls, the UCLA athletic department is very proud of its finish in the Sears Cup.

“Our finish in the Sears Cup shows the outstanding broad base athletic program we strive for every year at UCLA,” UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins said.

Sondheimer added: “To have that kind of program where every sport does well nationally you need special coaches and special athletes. At UCLA, we have both.”

Meanwhile, Stanford won its unprecedented sixth straight Sears Cup behind two national titles in men’s tennis and men’s outdoor track and field and runner-up finishes in baseball, women’s tennis, women’s golf, women’s volleyball and men’s water polo.

“Each year Stanford’s student athletes and the athletics department strive to win the Sears Directors’ Cup, the measuring stick for college athletics,” Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland said.

“Through the Sears Directors’ Cup program, Stanford’s student-athletes, coaches and support staff are rewarded for their dedication to excellence in all sports,” he added.

However, Sondheimer feels the tables are tilted more toward the Cardinal in the Sears Cup competition.

“Stanford’s got a great program but I think the format favors them,” he said. “They’ve got more sports than we do.”

The Cardinal has 28 sports while UCLA has 21. The Sears Cup standings consider all of the NCAA sponsored sports a school has.

The Cup began during the 1993-94 season. Prior to that season, USA Today conducted separate surveys for men’s and women’s programs. It began its surveys for the best men’s program in 1971 and for the best women’s program in 1977.

Under that format, UCLA was selected the No. 1 men’s athletic program 11 times and the No. 1 women’s athletic program 10 times.

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