ST. THOMAS WINS FIRST-EVER SCAC ALL-SPORTS TROPHY

SUWANEE, Ga. -- The race for the 2025-26 SCAC Presidents' Trophy came down to the final weekend of conference championship play and, when the dust had settled, University of St. Thomas (Texas) laid claim to its first-ever all-sports trophy. Final Results

The Celts prevailed in the tightest margin the race has produced in almost two decades, finishing just 7.5 points clear of second-place Texas Lutheran University and 15 points ahead of third-place Colorado College.

Despite winning just one conference championship this academic year (men's basketball), St. Thomas, who finished with 605 points in the Presidents' Trophy standings, produced consistently throughout the 2025-26 campaign, earning runner-up finishes in men's cross country, men's swimming and diving and women's golf and third-place finishes in both volleyball and women's tennis. 

This year marks just the second time in the 64-year history of the award the winning school has earned the bell having won just one conference championship - matching the 1968-69 all-sports title from Washington & Lee (Va.) University when the league (then known as the College Athletic Conference) was a men's sport only conference and sponsored just seven sports. The 7.5 point victory represents the 12th time, and first since 2006-07, the winning margin has been less than 10 points.

Texas Lutheran finished with 597.5 points and won its 10th SCAC softball title over the weekend to add to its previous men's soccer championship. The Bulldogs also had runner-up finishes in men's golf and men's track and field during the spring championships cycle. Colorado College, who finished with 590 points, earned the most conference championships of any school this season - taking home hardware in seven sports (men's cross country, women's cross country, volleyball, men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, men's tennis and women's tennis).

LeTourneau University and McMurry University finished tied for fourth in the all-sports race, both securing 527.5 points. LeTourneau swept the men's and women's golf titles while McMurry swept the men's and women's outdoor track and field crowns. The War Hawks had won previous championships in football and womnen's soccer. Taking sixth place in the Presidents' Trophy standings was Concordia University (Texas), who finished with 512.5 points. The Tornados won their first-ever SCAC crown with this past weekend's baseball tournament title.

Hendrix College, in its first year back in the league since 2011-12, finished seventh with 472.5 points, Schreiner University was eighth with 367.5 points, Austin College, who had previously won the women's basketball title, finished ninth with 340 points, and University of the Ozarks placed 10th with 337.5 points. Rounding out the order of finish, Centenary College was 11th with 242.5 points and University of Dallas finished 12th with 205 points.

SCAC PRESIDENT'S TROPHY QUICK FACTS

The symbol of conference supremacy is the 300-pound railroad bell which was donated to the SCAC by the Norfolk and Western Railroad. This bell, the "Presidents' Trophy", is a rotating award and goes to the school with the best overall sports record for the year.

The bell has been a part of the conference since its inception in 1962. In fact, the first conference logo, when the league was known as the College Athletic Conference, has the image of the bell incorporated into it.

The Presidents' Trophy is displayed for one year on the campus of the school with the combined men's and women's athletics program that accumulates the highest points total in the all-sports race.

The system used for distributing Presidents' Trophy points awards those points based off an institution's finish at the conference championship event. Points are awarded from the bottom up in increments of five for each place, with a last place finish in any officially recognized conference sport worth five points. A member institution must declare and sponsor the sport as varsity status with the NCAA to participate and score in any conference championship.

SCAC Presidents' Trophy - Archived Year-by-Year Results