Talk about your fixer-upper.
Several historic seasons across the board in 2005-2006 vaulted Tufts from No. 54 to No. 6 in the Div. III Directors' Cup standings, joining the ranks of the division's athletic behemoths and putting Medford on the map of Div. III sports.
While expressing reservations about the importance of the finish, Director of Athletics Bill Gehling recognized the achievements of several Tufts teams that posted record-setting seasons in 2005-2006.
"It's not so significant; it's just a nice accomplishment, a symbol of overall excellence," Gehling said. "We're excited that the points came from a wide variety of sports. It's certainly something we're proud of, a reflection of success."
After finishing the fall season at No. 4 and the winter season at No. 5, postseason showings from women's crew, women's tennis, softball, and both track and field teams in 2006 kept Tufts comfortably in the top 10. NESCAC rival Williams won the Cup for the fourth straight year and 10th in the past 11, taking the lead after trailing The College of New Jersey by less than a point at the end of the winter season. TCNJ settled for second place, followed by Middlebury, Emory and Cortland State.
Founded in 1993 by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and "USA Today" to rank Div. I and Div. II athletic achievements, the Directors' Cup was expanded in 1995 to include schools in Div. III, the division where most Tufts teams compete.
The Cup awards points for NCAA postseason competition in both individual sports (cross country, swimming, indoor and outdoor track and field, wrestling, golf, and women's rowing) and team sports (field hockey, football, soccer, women's volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, baseball, softball, lacrosse and tennis).
Women's soccer (13-3-2, national semifinalist), men's basketball (23-6, regional semifinalist), men's cross country (fifth at Nationals), men's swimming (10th at Nationals), women's rowing (fifth at Nationals), volleyball (29-7, regional semifinalist), and softball (NCAA Regionals) were the big winners, raking in the majority of Tufts' 602 points.
The No. 6 ranking blows Tufts' former best showing, a 24th place finish in 2000-2001, off the turf. But Gehling cautioned against placing too much emphasis on the Directors' Cup, which uses a points system heavily weighted towards individual-qualifying sports like swimming, cross country and track, and does not count several sports at which Tufts excels, such as sailing and squash.
"We have to be careful not to make too much of the sixth-place finish," Gehling said. "[The rankings are] flawed. A high finish says we're doing something right, but a lower finish doesn't necessarily mean the opposite."
"We don't go into a season caring how we finish," said Paul Sweeney, Tufts' Director of Sports Information. "Overall, the experience that the athlete has while competing is the most important part of what we do; most NESCAC schools will say that. We're proud-it's a reflection of the teams' success, but it's not necessarily something we strive for."
The finish has implications for NESCAC, which has long been dominated by the Williams-Middlebury-Amherst trio, both within the league and in national standings. Williams did take the top honors, albeit with a 130.25-point margin of victory that was its lowest since the 1999-2000 season, and Middlebury once again found its way into the top five, courtesy of its traditional lacrosse dominance and a national runner-up men's tennis team.
Eight of the 11 NESCAC teams placed in the top 40, and Tufts' sixth-place finish proves that there may be more room at the top of arguably Div. III's most competitive conference.
"The NESCAC is always included in national rankings," Sweeney said. "That's what primarily attracts the athlete--they get an unbelievable education while continuing to play sports. Ninety-nine percent of the athletes want to do something with their lives other than sports."
As the fall seasons kick off, returning women's soccer, volleyball and both cross country teams to their respective turfs, it's hard not to have an eye on moving up the ladder. But while just 52 points separated Tufts from a top-five finish, Gehling recognizes that there's more to the Tufts athletic philosophy than just being at the top of the list.
"We need to focus on what really matters-working hard to recruit and providing [student-athletes] with a great experience," he said.
"[The Directors' Cup is] really a bonus," Sweeney added. "It's the cherry on top of the sundae."
