“Champions Made Here.” That slogan now belongs to a school that has been recognized as having the best male athletics program in the 2012-2013 season.
The College World Series victory was not UCLA’s only cause for celebration on the night of June 25.
The championship also brought the Bruins 60 points in the Capital One Cup standings, propelling their men’s team total to the top with 92 points and allowing them to edge out the second-placed Hoosiers and Aggies by four points. UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero described it as a perfect ending to the season.
“It was exciting to watch the race for the cup come down to the College World Series again, and what an honor it is for their athletics program to build on last season’s third-place finish by becoming this year’s cup winner,” said Capital One Cup advisory board member Rece Davis.
The Capital One Cup is awarded annually to each of the nation’s best men’s and women’s college athletics program. This will be the first time that UCLA has been distinguished with the award. The trophy and a $200,000 fund for student-athlete scholarships will be officially presented to the Bruins during the ESPY awards held in Los Angeles on July 17.
UCLA also finished in third place in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, which ranks schools according to the combined success of their men’s and women’s athletic programs, behind 19th-consecutive winner Stanford and second-placed Florida.
The 2012-2013 NCAA season has been a big one for UCLA. Other than the victory at the College World Series, several other Bruin teams finished the season near the top of their respective sports to earn significant points toward the Capital One Cup standings.
The men’s water polo and tennis teams were NCAA runners-up and the men’s volleyball team concluded the season ranked fourth nationally.
“(These teams’) contributions were absolutely fantastic, and once again reflective of the fact that there’s broad-based excellence throughout our entire program,” Guerrero said.
“It’s fitting and proper that the cup itself was a combination of terrific seasons by both Olympic sports and a sport like baseball there at the very end.”
Along with the strong team performances, UCLA had several individual athletes win accolades in their sports. Rising junior tennis player Dennis Novikov captured his first pro singles title and rising redshirt senior thrower Julian Wruck claimed the NCAA discus title.
Although these individual championships do not contribute to the official Capital One Cup tally, they do show the success of the UCLA athletics program across many different sports.
“We’re very fortunate that in virtually every one of our sports, when a student-athlete comes to UCLA they have a chance to compete for something, whether it’s a conference championship or a national championship,” Guerrero said.
Compiled by Aubrey Yeo, Bruin Sports contributor.