Students can tell their friends studying in Division I athletic powerhouses such as Stanford, Duke and Harvard that Washington University is superior athletically and academically. In fact, every school that you cheered for during March Madness and the BCS Bowl Games was ranked below Wash. U.

Wash. U. is ranked fourth in the nation according to the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA)’s Collegiate Power Rankings, a system that ranks institutions based on academics and athletics. The poll takes into account the final U.S. Sports Academy Director’s Cup standings, the U.S. News and World Report academic rankings and NCAA student athlete graduation rates. Wash. U. ranked second, 12th and 17th respectively.

Williams College sits atop the rankings, followed by Amherst College and Middlebury College. Stanford University, which is fifth in the nation, is the highest Division I school. Duke sits sixth, UAA rival Emory is tied with Princeton for ninth and Harvard is 11th.

“Having lived in one of the greatest college sports towns all my life and seeing their incredible facilities, it’s amazing to be ranked ahead of those schools,” sophomore halfback Sam Kentor of Austin, TX. said. “I think Wash. U. is an awesome environment for a student-athlete because we are treated like every other student. We’re held to the same academic standard as every other student at this fine institution, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The NCSA agreed with Kentor’s statement: “Washington University in St. Louis has made it to the top one percent overall in the rankings because of their commitment to academics and athletics as well as their commitment to graduating their student-athletes,” Chris Krause, founder and president of the NCSA, said in his statement to the press.

Last year’s three national championships in volleyball, men’s basketball and men’s tennis and five other top 10 finishes in women’s cross country, women’s indoor track and field, men’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving and women’s soccer catapulted the Bears to the number two spot in the Director’s Cup. Historically, Wash. U. has 15 national and 124 UAA conference titles.

“Championships alone tell of Wash. U.’s past athletic victories as well as the many other teams that came close,” president of Red Alert and senior Jessica Hagen said.

On- and off-field success of students at Wash. U. has been aided by coaches and professors.

“Many WU coaches have the knowledge, drive and persona to coach at the Division I level, yet they remain at Wash. U. because they believe ‘we do it right,’” Head Volleyball Coach Rich Luenemann said. According to Luenemann, who has been at Wash. U. for nine years, Wash. U. athletes have less stringent offseason commitments, miss fewer classes and spend significantly less time practicing compared to their Division I counterparts. “It’s a strong testament to the fiber of Wash. U.’s student-athletes that they don’t have to sacrifice academics for athletics or vice versa,” Luenemann said.

Student-athletes and Red Alert have asked the student body to show its support for the Bears by attending, and cheering at, games.

“I think that the current teams have the talent and leadership, along with fan support of Red Alert, to repeat in these victories,” Hagen said.

The first home game and the first Red Alert event of the year will be the women’s soccer game against Calvin College tonight at 8 p.m. at Francis Field.