The Department of Athletics at Washington University was recently ranked No. 7 in Hall of Fame Magazine’s annual ranking of the top 15 collegiate athletic programs in NCAA Divisions I, II and III and NAIA.

“We are honored to be recognized among the nation’s best,” Director of Athletics John Schael said. “It is a tribute to our student athletes, coaches and Washington University.”

According to a Hall of Fame Magazine article, the ranked athletic programs were “judged by their excellence across all sports.”

This year, the Bears had nine teams qualify for NCAA post-season competition. Two of these-women’s volleyball and men’s basketball-won Division III national championships.

The men’s basketball team brought in the University’s first NCAA basketball title when the team defeated defending champion Amherst this March. Additionally, the women’s volleyball team set a Div. III record when it won its ninth NCAA crown.

Rich Luenemann, head coach of volleyball, said he was “astounded in a very positive” sense to hear of the athletic program’s ranking.

“We have proven at Washington University that you can have the best of both worlds: the highest level of academic opportunities and strong success in athletics in the field, court or whatever it may be,” Luenemann said.

In addition to bringing in two championship titles, the University placed third in women’s cross country and women’s indoor track and field, fifth in men’s soccer, sixth in women’s swimming and diving, ninth in women’s soccer, 13th in men’s swimming and diving and 17th in women’s basketball.

Mark Edwards, head coach of the men’s basketball team, feels that a key element in the overall success of the University’s athletic program has been its interconnectedness.

“One of the big pluses this department has is that we’re very supportive of each other,” Edwards said. “That’s not always there in some places, so it’s something that we’re proud of, and it’s very important for us.”

In order of ranking, the top six collegiate athletic programs honored were Stanford, Texas-Austin, Louisiana State, Grand Valley State, Southern California and Ohio State.

Washington University was followed in ranking by Kansas, Tennessee, and California.

Schael says that while he feels the ranking is a great honor, he also takes pride in some of the University’s other recent rankings.

For example, Schael points to the fact that the University is currently ranked first in the running for the Div. III Director’s Cup.

The Director’s Cup is an annual award given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics that is based on order of finish in NCAA post-season play. The Div. III title in the Director’s Cup has recently been dominated by Williams College, which has won the award consecutively since the 1998-99 academic year.

Additionally, the University’s athletics program was ranked 12th last summer by the National Collegiate Scouting Association, which bases its ranking not only on athletics, but academics and student athlete graduation rates as well.

Above all, Schael says he is most proud of the overall experience offered to student athletes at the University.

“We’ve always taken pride in the quality of experience our students have,” Schael said. “That’s where we hang our hat.”

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