August 29, 2008

CHICAGO, Ill. – Four Collegiate Water Polo Association varsity teams are among the Top 15 in the National Collegiate Scouting Association's sixth annual Collegiate Power Rankings.

The NCSA's 2008 Collegiate Power Rankings rate colleges and universities comprehensively based on student-athlete graduation rates, academic strength and athletic prowess of the university.

Leading the way for the CWPA is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology which is ranked seventh for the highest rating in the history of the Engineers' athletics program.

“For a school to be at the top of a list of more than 1,000 NCAA schools with athletic programs is remarkable”, said Chris Krause, Founder and President of the NCSA. “MIT is listed in the top one percent in the overall rankings because of its commitment to academic and athletics, as well as its commitment to graduating student-athletes. NCSA’s power rankings objectively help prospective student-athletes compare each of their collegiate opportunities so they can make the most educated decision possible when it comes to their future. To be listed as one of the top schools in the 2008 NCSA Power Rankings shows dedication and commitment to running an elite program, and deserves to be recognized.”

Following MIT are Princeton University (10th), Harvard University (11th) and Johns Hopkins University (14) as the CWPA programs joined the Western Water Polo Association's University of California-Davis (20th) as the only water polo institutions in the Top 20 nationally.

Among Division I institutions, the CWPA placed five institutions within the Top 20 as Princeton (third), Harvard (fourth), Brown University (11th), the United States Naval Academy (13th) and the University of Michigan (18th) joined the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's Stanford University (first) as water polo institutions accounted for nearly a third of the top programs in Division I.

In Division III, MIT and Johns Hopkins both ranked in the Top 10 claiming fifth and ninth, respectively.

The Collegiate Power Rankings from NCSA are calculated for each college and university at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels by averaging the U.S. News & World Report ranking, the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup ranking and the NCAA student-athlete graduation rate of each college/university. The collegiate power rankings are based off of the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup rating which evaluates the strength of NCAA athletic departments, while the U.S. News & World Report rating recognizes institutions of academic excellence. The student-athlete graduation rates are based on those provided by the NCAA.

2008 NCSA Collegiate Power Rankings

1. Williams College
2. Amherst College
3. Middlebury College
4. Washington University in St. Louis
5. Stanford University
6. Duke University
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
8. Tufts University
9. Emory University
10. Princeton University
11. Harvard University
12. University of Notre Dame
13. Haverford College
14. Johns Hopkins University
15. Washington & Lee University

Please visit www.ncsasports.org/about-ncsa/power-rankings for a complete listing.