Oct. 4, 2012

Overall National Rankings
NCAA Division II Rankings

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University moved up seven spots and is ranked 10th among the 300 NCAA Division II universities and 58th overall in the 10th Annual National Collegiate Scouting Association Power Rankings released this week.

NCSA Athletic Recruiting's Collegiate 2012 Power Rankings assess the academic and athletics standards of all NCAA athletic programs across the country. The Power Rankings were developed to help prospective student athletes and their families evaluate the particular strengths of the top colleges and universities at the Division I, II and III levels.

"We are very proud of our ranking," said WWU Director of Athletics Lynda Goodrich. "This achievement shows that WWU Athletics is living up to NCAA Division II motto of `Life in the Balance.'"

Fewer than six percent of colleges and universities earn a spot in NCSA Athletic Recruiting's Top 100 for 2012, and WWU is in this elite class.

"The Power Rankings are an objective tool to empower student athletes to find the right fit in a college or university, not only for its athletics, but academics as well," said Lisa Strasman, COO and President of NCSA Athletic Recruiting. "Our hope is to educate these student athletes and their parents on the importance of evaluating schools that will provide the education for an enriched, successful career after college, in addition to athletic success."

The Collegiate Power Rankings for NCSA Athletic Recruiting are calculated for each Division I, II and III college and university by averaging student-athlete graduation rates, academic rankings provided by U.S. News & World Report, and the strength of athletic departments as determined by the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup.

WWU ranked 13th in the national all-sports rankings for the 2011-12 school year, marking the fourth straight year that the Vikings have placed among the top 15. They were sixth in 2009-10, seventh in 2010-11 and 10th in 2008-09.

WWU won the NCAA II national championship in men's basketball and placed second in women's rowing. The Vikings were the Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-sports champions for the fourth straight year and the eighth time overall. They captured conference titles in men's track, men's golf and women's golf; and placed second in volleyball, women's soccer, men's cross country, women's basketball, and women's indoor track.

While having success in competition, WWU student-athletes continue to be outstanding in the classroom. The Vikings' graduation rate of 69 percent was 14 percent higher than the NCAA II national average. Using the NCAA Academic Success Rate, WWU graded out to 88 percent, 15 percentage points higher than the NCAA II national average.

WWU was the highest-ranked public, master's-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2013 U.S. News & World Report college rankings. WWU also is ranked third among top public master's-granting universities in the West, a region stretching from Texas to the Pacific.

The news magazine's annual rankings are posted on its Web site, http://www.usnews.com. Rankings are based on a variety of criteria including academic reputation, student selectivity and retention, faculty resources, peer assessment and financial resources.

A comprehensive list of the NCSA rankings, both overall and by division, is available at: http://www.ncsasports.ore/about-ncsa/power-rankings.