Florida Ranked Fourth Best Sports College
Wednesday, October 2, 2002 | General
The University of Florida athletic program is ranked the fourth best Division I athletic teams in America for 2001-02 in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. The rankings will be released in a special report in the Oct. 7 issue of the magazine.
A program-record total of 12 Gator athletic teams finished in the top 10 of their respective sports in 2001-02, which equals the record set in the 1992-93 season when 12 teams also posted top-10 finishes. Florida's top-10 teams in 2001-02 NCAA competition include: Women's Tennis (2nd); Football (3rd in both AP & USA Today/ESPN), Women's Indoor Track & Field (3rd), Soccer (T3rd), Men's Swimming & Diving (4th), Men's Outdoor Track & Field (T4th), Volleyball (T5th), Women's Outdoor Track & Field (6th), Women's Golf (T6th), Women's Swimming & Diving (7th), Men's Tennis (T9th), and Gymnastics (10th).
Earlier this year, Florida finished third in the Sears Directors' Cup national all-sports competition, becoming one of only two schools to be ranked among the nation's 10 best collegiate athletic programs for 19 consecutive years. Florida and UCLA are the only schools to finish in the top 10 in national all-sports rankings every year since 1983-84.
Finishing ahead of Florida in the Sports Illustrated rankings were the University of Texas (1), Stanford University (2) and Oklahoma University (3), while SEC rival the University of South Carolina rounded out the top five.
SI used a variety of factors in arriving at the rankings including performance during the 2001-02 school year in the big five sports (baseball, football, hockey, men's and women's basketball), position in the Sears Cup all-sport standings, number of varsity, club and intramural sports, range of recreational facilities and whether or not spirit-boosting events like Midnight Madness are held.
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