According to ESPN commentator Bob Ryan, Williams “is the greatest small college program in America.” He offered this assessment after Williams’ scholar-athletes once again won the Directors’ Cup awarded by the U.S. Sports Academy. The cup is given annually to the best all-around athletics program in NCAA Division III competition for team performance in 18 sports (nine men’s, nine women’s). Only once in its 15-year history has the Directors’ Cup been awarded to another institution (UC San Diego in 1998, prior to its rise to Division II competition).

In 2009-10, women’s crew and tennis finished first in the nation in Division III, while men’s basketball and cross-country were second. Fourteen Williams teams finished in the top 10, and eight NCAA individual titles were won this past year by Ephs. In the overall calculation, Williams accumulated a total of 1,292.25 points, 386.5 points ahead of runner-up Amherst. The margin of victory was the largest since the Directors’ Cup was established. For more details visit http:// tinyurl.com/directorscup.