University of Illinois Finishes 22nd Among Division I Colleges in 2007 NCSA Collegiate Power Rankings

Rankings System Assesses Academics, Athletics and Student-Athlete Graduation Rates

September 10, 2007 (Chicago, IL) – The National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) is pleased to announce that the University of Illinois was ranked 22nd among NCAA Division I universities in the 5th Annual NCSA Collegiate Power Rankings (http://www.ncsapowerrankings.org/). The University of Illinois moved up from its 33rd place finish in the 2006 Division I rankings to 22nd in 2007, giving the university a strong finish this year.

NCSA's Collegiate Power Rankings rate colleges and universities comprehensively based on student-athlete graduation rates, academic strength and athletic prowess of the university. The University of Illinois is in an elite group of less than 6% of colleges and universities across the nation to make it on NCSA's Top 100 for 2007.

"With so many great colleges/universities to choose from, NCSA's power rankings objectively help student-athletes compare collegiate opportunities so they know how institutions stack up pound for pound," said NCSA CEO and Founder Chris Krause. "With this ranking, it shows us that the University of Illinois not only places importance on winning games, but on academics and graduating players as well."

The Collegiate Power Rankings from NCSA (http://www.ncsasports.org/) are calculated for each college and university at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels by averaging the U.S. News & World Report ranking, the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup ranking and the NCAA student-athlete graduation rate of each college/university. The collegiate power rankings based off of the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup rating evaluates the strength of NCAA athletic departments, while the U.S. News & World Report rating recognizes institutions of academic excellence. The student-athlete graduation rates are based on those provided by the NCAA. New for 2007, NCSA distinguished the top national and liberal arts colleges from the list of comprehensive colleges.

In addition to the collegiate power rankings, NCSA is redefining collegiate recruiting by providing recruiting education to high school athletic directors, coaches and families of student-athletes who are interested in competing at the next level.

"The backbone of NCSA is education," said Krause. "The NCSA staff consists of more than 70 collegiate athletes and college coaches whose focus is to match college coaches with qualified and committed student athletes, maximizing their collegiate recruiting potential."

About NCSA More than 35,000 college coaches and more than 1,700 colleges and universities use NCSA to meet their recruiting needs. NCSA annually tracks more than 100,000 of the top student athletes in 25 sports who will be making their way on to college rosters with the ultimate goal of earning a college degree.

Check http://www.ncsasports.org for a complete ranking list.