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Back in January, islandbruin2 reported on UCLA's performance in the Directors' Cup and Capital One Cup competitions through the end of the fall season. At that time, UCLA was holding on to second place in the Directors' Cup, trailing only Stanford in the competition.
In case you're wondering what the Directors' Cup is, and why it's relevant, islandbruin2 has a fantastic, concise summary:
The Directors' Cup awards points for any finish in any sport from #64 to #1, with 100 points for a 1st place finish, and 90 points for a 2nd place finish (11% premium for winning it all). The scores are determined for each school for all sports, and that school's top 20 scores are combined for an overall point total. Breadth, not depth, is rewarded. Stanford always wins this trophy. So rather than require Guerrero to finish 1st for a reward, he is rewarded if we finish in the top 10% (!!), with a bump for finishing in the top 10.
Because the Directors' Cup rewards breadth rather than depth, UCLA tallied points in four winter sports. However, without a clear top-10 finish by any of our teams in the winter, UCLA didn't accumulate enough points to stay ahead of North Carolina, Penn State, and Wisconsin and dropped to fifth place as a result. The Bruins also continue to trail Stanford, and at the moment, UCLA is much closer to sixth place (Ohio State) than fourth place (Wisconsin).
As of April 6th, the composition of the Bruins' point total is as follows:
| Directors' Cup Points | National Finish | |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Water Polo | 100.0 | 1st |
| Men's Soccer | 90.0 | 2nd |
| Women's Soccer | 73.0 | T-5th |
| Football | 67.5 | 10th |
| Women's Volleyball | 64.0 | T-9th |
| Men's Cross Country | 56.0 | 18th |
| Women's Cross Country | 47.0 | 27th |
| Fall Sports Total | 497.5 | 2nd |
| Men's Basketball | 64.0 | T-9th |
| Women's Swimming & Diving | 51.0 | 23rd |
| Women's Indoor Track & Field | 45.5 | 28th |
| Men's Indoor Track & Field | 5.0 | 62nd |
| Women's Basketball | 0.0 | - |
| Winter Sports Total | 165.5 | 50th |
| Total Points | 663 | 5th |
As you can see from the table, the Bruins managed only 165.5 points in the winter compared to 497.5 in the fall. The biggest contributor to UCLA's winter total is men's basketball, with their final position (tied for ninth) determined by three NCAA tournament games rather than a full season of action.
The Bruins' winter total is almost identical to last year's tally. In 2014, our men's basketball team earned 64 points, our women's swimming and diving team scored 52.5 points, our women's indoor track and field team totaled 43.5 points, our men's indoor track and field team was awarded 6 points, and our women's basketball team contributed 0 points. At the end of the winter season in 2014, UCLA was in 25th place.
While there's something to be said for consistency, consistently falling short of excellence should draw the attention of our athletic director. Our winter sports programs need attention. However, it seems that the structure of the bonus attached to performance in the Directors' Cup isn't motivating Dan Guerrero sufficiently to act.
The Capital One Cup has separate competitions for men's and women's teams. Again, islandbruin2's explanation of the basic scoring structure is enlightening:
The Capital One Cup has several differences. First, sports are placed in two buckets, with more points awarded for finishes in "major" sports. Second, points are awarded only if you finish in the top 10 in a given sport. And third, there is a much bigger difference between finishing 1st (60 points for major sport) and 2nd (36 points for major sport)- 67% premium for winning it all.
Please note that Dan Guerrero has no direct financial incentive linked to Capital One Cup results.
As of April 14, the 2015 Capital One Cup standings has UCLA in sixth place in the men's cup competition and in 21st place in the women's cup contest. As you can see from the table below, both our men's and women's teams scored a doughnut for the winter season (so far).
| Men's Capital One Cup Points | National Finish | |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Water Polo | 20 | 1st |
| Men's Soccer | 36 | 2nd |
| Football | 3 | 10th |
| Men's Cross Country | 0 | 18th |
| Fall Sports Total | 59 | 4th |
| Men's Basketball | 0 | T-9 |
| Men's Indoor Track & Field | 0 | 62nd |
| Winter Sports Total | 0 | |
| Fall + Winter Total | 59 | 6th |
| Women's Capital One Cup Points | National Finish | |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Soccer | 18 | T-5th |
| Women's Volleyball | 0 | T-9th |
| Women's Cross Country | 0 | 27th |
| Fall Sports Total | 18 | T-12th |
| Women's Basketball | 0 | T-9 |
| Women's Indoor Track & Field | 0 | 62nd |
| Women's Swimming & Diving | 0 | 23rd |
| Winter Sports Total | 0 | |
| Fall + Winter Total | 18 | 21st |
On the men's side, the Bruins are still within striking distance of first place Ohio State (85.5 points), but will need a big spring to pull ahead of the Buckeyes. On the women's side, there are too many teams ahead of the Bruins, and too much ground to be made up to catch the leaders. However, with a strong spring, the Bruins have a shot at finishing in the top-10 in the women's cup competition.
Based on the excellent showing by the Bruins in the fall season, and the likely strong finish by our teams this spring, it seems very likely that Dan Guerrero will once again be rewarded with a bonus payment. At some point in the future, I hope to be able to write that he earned his performance bonus.
Go BRUINS!