Denison captures fifth-straight and league-leading 20th All-Sports Title – Denison University

GRANVILLE, Ohio (May 17, 2024) – Denison University won four outright league titles in women’s golf, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse and men’s tennis, shared the league title with Wittenberg in baseball, and posted 16 additional top-five finishes during the 2023-24 academic year to win its fifth-straight and league-leading 20th overall North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Championship.

Beyond Denison’s five championship titles, the Big Red posted five second-place showings in field hockey, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, softball and women’s tennis and a share of second in football. Denison also added two third-place finishes in men’s soccer and men’s outdoor track & field to cement its spot atop the standings with a total of 202.5 points.

DePauw, which has won three All-Sports titles, took second in the final standings behind Denison with 196 points. The Tigers earned top-five finishes in 18 championship sports. Wittenberg placed third with 192.5 points after logging 17 top-five finishes. Ohio Wesleyan finished fourth in the final standings with 172 points after capturing 13 top-five finishes. Wooster checked in at fifth with 162.5 points after 17 top-five finishes, while Kenyon finished sixth overall with 155 points and 10 top-five finishes. Oberlin finished seventh with 129 total points, which included 10 top-five finishes, while Wabash finished eighth with 93.5 points with nine top-five finishes in 11 men’s sports. Hiram finished ninth overall with 72 total points and two top-four finishes.

Denison found itself in fourth place in the overall standing after the Fall sports season and was in third place behind Wittenberg and DePauw after the Winter season. In the end, Denison won five of 10 NCAC Championships in the Spring season and finished just 6.5 points ahead of DePauw in second place and was 10 points in front of Wittenberg in third place.

In the final men’s standings, Denison was first at 97.5 points while Wabash was second at 93.5 points and Wittenberg was third at 88.5 points. In the women’s standings, DePauw was first at 115.0 points while the Big Red were second with 105.0 points and Wittenberg was just one point behind with 104 points.

The All-Sports champion earns the Dennis M. Collins All-Sports Trophy, given annually to the school that performs the best across the NCAC’s 23 sports. Eleven points are awarded for a first-place finish, ten for a second, nine for a third, and so on. Men’s and women’s performances are combined, exemplifying the North Coast’s commitment to equity and balance among programs. Wooster won three of the first four All-Sports championships, interrupted only by Denison in year two. Ohio Wesleyan followed with a six-year run, leading to titles by Wooster (twice), Wittenberg (once), Denison (nine), OWU (twice), and then a tie between Denison and OWU in 2009. Wittenberg earned its second All-Sports title in 2010, followed by Denison in 2011 and DePauw in 2012. Denison then claimed back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014, before DePauw regained the championship in 2015. The Big Red reclaimed the title after the 2015-16 academic year, followed by DePauw in 2017 before Denison once again earned back-to-back titles the next two years. An all-sports trophy was not awarded in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Big Red then secured the 2022 and 2023 titles to collect the last four trophies.

Denison leads the way with 176 team championships during the NCAC’s 40 playing seasons. Ohio Wesleyan is next with 161 titles, followed by Kenyon (141), Wittenberg (123), Wooster (85), DePauw (45), Wabash (35), Oberlin (26) and Hiram (2).

 

Official NCAC Release