CLEVELAND, Ohio – Katrina Rodriguez’s National Championship in the pole vault provided perhaps the biggest highlight of the 2009-10 academic year for the Chico State Athletic Department. Her championship leap also provided a fitting illustration for Chico State’s athletic department, which vaulted from 31st to 12th in the final Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings with the most impressive spring campaign in NCAA Division II athletics. This spring, five of Chico State’s six programs advanced to the NCAA Championships, giving them nine NCAA Championship programs out of 13 overall.

“This spring provided a great finish to what has been an outstanding year for Chico State athletics,” Wildcats Athletic Director Anita Barker said. “I am as proud of what we accomplished this year as I’ve ever been.” 

Chico State has now finished among the nation’s top 25 in the Directors’ Cup standings seven years in a row and among the top four in the West for 10 years running. That success has correlated with the University’s decision to join the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) beginning with the 1998-99 academic year. Prior to that move, Chico State had never finished higher than 46th in the Directors’ Cup standings.

The Directors’ Cup competition is designed to recognize the strongest and deepest intercollegiate athletic programs in the nation. The Wildcats certainly proved to be both strong and deep in 2009-10.

The cross country and women’s soccer programs got the department off on a good foot with strong showings last fall. The women’s cross country team finished sixth in the nation, the men in eighth, and the women’s soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship Tournament for the first time in that program’s history.

The women’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 this winter, setting the stage for the program’s spectacular spring. The men’s golf team put together the strongest team performance, finishing third at the National Championships. The men’s track & field team finished eighth, the women’s softball team advanced to the West Region championship series, the women’s track team finished 18th, and the baseball team advanced to the NCAA Championship Tournament as well.

It all added up to 577 points for Chico State, which was the second most points ever compiled by the Wildcats. Their 12th-place finish out of nearly 300 programs put them among the nation’s top 10 percent for the seventh straight year.

Division II powerhouse Grand Valley State (Michigan) claimed the title for the seventh straight season with 1,021.5 points. The Lakers were followed in the standings by California (Pa.), Central Missouri, Minnesota State Mankato and St. Cloud State (Minn.).

UC San Diego, which scored 626 points and finished eighth, was the lone CCAA school to finish ahead of the Wildcats.

Since joining the CCAA for the 1998-99 athletic campaign, the Wildcats have grown into one of the strongest Division II athletic programs in the nation. They earned their first top-20 finish by finishing 17th in 2001-02, and followed that up with finishes of 28th, fifth, third, eighth, 17th, 25th, and 22nd, and 12th, respectively.

Chico State, home to 13 NCAA Division II athletic programs, is one of 233 Division II programs in the nation.

At the Division II level, scoring is based on each school’s 14 top-scoring programs (seven men’s programs and seven women’s).

The History of Chico State in the Directors’ Cup

Chico State Athletics – A Decade-Plus of Dominance...
93 NCAA Championship berths
38 CCAA titles
23 West Region titles
14 National titles
Seven top-25 Directors’ Cup finishes
...Since joining the CCAA in 1998-99.