Aug. 25, 2004

DURHAM, N.C.-- The Duke University Athletic Department has been named the winner of the 2004 Excellence in Athletics Cup for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The award has been established to "Acknowledge All-Around Excellence in Intercollegiate Athletics." The research and award program was established this year by the Laboratory for the Study of Intercollegiate Athletics (LSIA) at Texas A&M University. The program awarded a winner from each of the six BCS conferences in 2004 (Big 12, SEC, ACC, Big East, Big 10, Pac-10). The award was based on the athletic department's performance on eight different criteria-- 1. Excellence in NCAA post-season competitions across all sports 2. Excellence in conference competition in all sports officially sponsored by your conference 3. Excellence in the classroom by graduating student-athletes in a similar proportion to the undergraduate students at your school 4. Excellence in the classroom by graduating African-American student-athletes in a similar proportion to the African-American undergraduate students at your school 5. Excellence in achieving gender equitable participation opportunities 6. Excellence in achieving gender equitable financial aid allocations 7. Excellence in operating efficiently with the use of financial resources in comparison to NCAA post season winning 8. Excellence in operating efficiently with the use of financial resources in comparison to conference winning Duke faired the best in the 2004 analysis when compared to the other ACC institutions. The Blue Devils received a total of 1,000 points followed by Florida State (980), North Carolina (980), Maryland (920), Virginia (820), N.C. State (800), Wake Forest (800), Georgia Tech 9640) and Clemson (420). An engraved marble trophy will be presented to Duke University in the fall. - d - u - k - e -