Someone out there in Division II of the NCAA produced a listing of member schools and their basketball programs with combined records for men's and women's teams. That someone then listed the top 25 across the nation and Incarnate Word fared quite well.

At the end of the 2008-2009 campaign the Cardinals men were 23-7, their best mark in seven years. The UIW women ended at 21-9, their top record in 10 years. Combined the Cardinals were 44-16 for a percentage of .733 and that mark tied for 22nd in the nation.

The UIW women finished the regular season second in the Heartland Conference and went to the league's post-season championship tournament seeded second. The Cardinals then upset favorite St. Mary's on the Rattlers' home court to capture the 2009 title. With the crown, Incarnate Word advanced to the regional tournament for the first time in UIW-NCAA history.

UIW was the lone Texas Division II school in the top 25 on the combined listing. In the South Central Region where Incarnate Word competes, Central Missouri (47-16, 16th and national men's runnerup) and Emporia State (tied with UIW at 44-16) were on the list. And from the Lone Star Conference, also in the South Central region, only Central Oklahoma (51-12, 4th) was there.

The top school in Division II for combined men's and women's basketball was Gannon of Pennsylvania with a unified record of 56-9 for .862 per cent. Next up were Northern Kentucky (53-10) and Minnesota State / Mankato (58-11; women's champion) tied at .841 per cent.

Central Oklahoma was fourth while Findlay of Ohio finished fifth (50-13, 794) after its men won the national title and went 36-0.