Stanford 1st in Capital One Cup Standings for both men and women

The race toward the 2016-2017 Capital One Cup is on, and with the conclusion of the fall college sports season, both Clemson University and Stanford University men’s athletic programs have ascended to the top of the men’s standings, alongside Stanford, who is also in the lead of the women’s race. Capital One, an official NCAA® Corporate Champion and sponsor of the College Football Playoff, announced today the fall Capital One Cup standings, as determined by cumulative athletic performances throughout the fall sports season.

The current standings for the Capital One Cup, which is awarded each year to the nation’s best men’s and women’s NCAA Division I athletics programs, include a lineup of traditionally strong contenders and several first-time top 10 programs. Along with the trophy, the athletic programs that win it all at the close of the spring season receive a combined $400,000 in student-athlete scholarships and are honored at the ESPYS in July.

Throughout the fall season, each new victory or upset led to constant shifts and re-rankings in the Capital One Cup standings. A duo of new schools brought home NCAA titles in 2016 for the first time, including Northern Arizona’s men’s cross country victory and Delaware’s women’s field hockey championship. In the men’s standings, Stanford sealed the deal during the Men’s College Cup as its soccer team executed a game-winning save during penalty kicks for a 5-4 victory over Wake Forest. With the addition of top 10 finishes in cross country and water polo, the Cardinal men sit tied at No. 1 in the fall Men’s Capital One Cup standings with 78 points.

The men’s fall athletic season was capped by Clemson football’s triumphant win over Alabama in the teams’ highly-anticipated College Football Playoff National Championship rematch. With a stunning, last-second touchdown play that earned Clemson its first national football title in more than three decades, the Tigers supplemented points earned from a top 10 finish in men’s soccer and rocketed to the top, tying with Stanford for first place. Following in the standings, and debuting in the men’s top 10, is James Madison in the No. 3 position, along with Wake Forest and Youngstown State who are tied with Alabama at No. 4.

In the women’s race, Delaware came out of the gate strong, winning its first-ever national title in women’s field hockey and claiming a brief stint at the top of the standings. As the fall season edged to completion, the Stanford women ultimately secured their place at the top of the Women’s Capital One Cup standings after winning a seventh national title in women’s volleyball. Combined with earlier top 10 finishes in cross country and field hockey, the Cardinal women closed the fall season with 83 Capital One Cup points. Rounding out the top three in the women’s standings are the defending Capital One Cup champion, USC Trojans, who currently sit at No. 2, and North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia who are tied at No. 3.

Below are the official Capital One Cup standings for the 2016 – 2017 fall athletics season with the top 10 point earners (including ties) listed in men’s and women’s athletics. The complete fall standings can be found at www.CapitalOneCup.com.

Men’s Cup Fall Standings

• Tied for 1. Clemson, Stanford: 78 points
• 3. James Madison: 60 points
• Tied for 4. Alabama, Wake Forest, Youngstown State: 36 points
• Tied for 7. Denver, North Dakota State, Oklahoma, USC: 30 points

Women’s Cup Fall Standings

• 1. Stanford: 83 points
• 2. USC: 60 points
• T-3 North Carolina, Texas, West Virginia: 36 points
• T-6 Georgetown, Minnesota: 30 points
• 8. Nebraska: 24 points
• T-9. Delaware, Oregon: 20 points

Highlights from the fall season include:

• Clemson upset Alabama in the CFP National Championship, securing its second national title in team history and the first in more than 35 years.
• James Madison clinched the FCS national championship title, closing the season with a 14-1 record and earning the most single-season wins in school history.
• Stanford earned its seventh national title in women’s volleyball, tying with Penn State for the most women’s volleyball titles won by a single program.
• Oregon won its fourth women’s cross country national title by a single point, becoming the lowest ranked team (12^th) to ever win an NCAA national title in the sport.
• Northern Arizona took home the men’s cross country national title for the first time, edging out competitors to include Stanford and Syracuse.
• The Cal men won a fourteenth NCAA Water Polo Championship, the most water polo titles of any other collegiate athletic program.
• Delaware secured the program's first-ever women’s national field hockey title after an impressive 3-2 win over North Carolina.
• Stanford men’s soccer came out on top to win the Men’s College Cup for the second year in a row, becoming the first repeat champions in over a decade.
• USC women’s soccer repeated as champions in the Women’s College Cup, defeating West Virginia 3-1.