Berkeleyan

For Cal Athletics, the 2006-07 season was one of the most stellar in school history. Some of the brightest student-athlete stars could be found in women's swimming, including the 400-yard medley team of (left to right) Emily Silver, Dana Vollmer, Lauren Rogers, and Jessica Hardy. (Natalie Coughlin photo)

It was a very good year - again
Cal wraps up 2006-07 with another Top 10 finish in the closely watched Directors' Cup rankings

11 July 2007

View slide show: Championship year for Cal Bears

For those keeping score - a group that includes untold thousands of Bear boosters - this was a red-letter year for the Blue and Gold, as Cal athletics celebrated one of the most outstanding seasons in the campus's history.

Berkeley's student-athletes have plenty to be proud about both on and off the playing field, from individual victories to team and campus-wide achievements. Cal's 27 varsity teams ranked ninth nationally in overall excellence in the Directors' Cup - the all-sports awards program of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics - for the school's fourth top-10 finish in the past five years. Leading the list of accomplishments were national championships in men's water polo and rugby and a record 11 individual or relay NCAA titles.

In addition to those first-place finishes, seven other Cal teams ranked among the top 10 in the nation: women's swimming and diving (3rd), women's tennis (3rd), men's crew (5th), women's crew (7th), men's gymnastics (7th), men's swimming and diving (8th) and women's outdoor track and field (8th). Twenty-one of Cal's 27 intercollegiate programs earned a postseason berth in 2006-07.

Also worthy of celebration this past year was an NCAA certification of the athletic department that included a comprehensive self-study, confirming the department is operating in full compliance with the NCAA's operating principles.

And academically, Cal's more than 850 student-athletes achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0, with women's soccer leading all teams with a combined 3.356 GPA. Each of Cal's NCAA-sponsored teams also exceeded the required minimum score on the 2005-06 Academic Progress Report.