BURLINGTON, Vt. – On the heels of the University of Vermont athletic department posting its best ranking in the final standings of the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup with the 98th spot, the Catamounts finished fifth in the Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) All-Sports trophy standings for the 2008-09 season.

The University of Denver took home top honors in the rankings of the 99 Division I institutions that do not sponsor football, followed by UC Irvine, Boston University, Providence and Vermont.

“This is another significant milestone for our university and athletic program. We are tremendously proud of our student-athletes and coaches and all that they have accomplished over the past year and look forward to building on this success in 2009-10,” stated Dr. Robert Corran, Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics at Vermont.

A pair of NCAA individual national championships, two teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament and an America East Championship highlighted the 2008-09 University of Vermont athletic season. The Catamounts posted their best winning percentage, both overall and in conference play, in six years.

Vermont also continued to show its commitment to developing student-athletes. UVM won the America East Academic Cup for the fifth consecutive season and sixth time overall. Catamount student-athletes achieved a 3.14 cumulative grade-point average during the 2008-09 year, tying the highest grade-point average in the 14-year history of the award, which Vermont set during the 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2007-08 academic years.

UVM student-athletes boasted the highest grade-point average in department history with a 3.2 GPA for the spring semester of 2009, marking the 14th consecutive semester the UVM athletic department has earned a 3.0 GPA or better. A total of 14 teams earned GPA's over 3.0 in the spring of 2009.

Also for the first time in league history, the America East Men's and Women's Scholar-Athletes came from the same school – UVM's Connor Tobin, a member of the men's soccer team, and Kristen Millar, a member of the women's lacrosse team. Millar also became the first Vermont student-athlete to garner America East Woman of the Year honors.

Now in its ninth year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs.