For the 10th time in 12 years and the 11th time overall, Denison University has been named the All-Sports Champion of the North Coast Athletic Conference.  Denison capped off the 2008-09 season with an outstanding spring which saw the Big Red capture three conference titles.

The conference, who is celebrating their 25th Anniversary in 2009, encountered a first with this year's All-Sports tabulation.  After all of the respective points had been awarded for the NCAC's 22 sports, Denison and Ohio Wesleyan finished in a tie for first place with 159.5 points.  This is the first tie for the All-Sports trophy in the history of the league.

Denison entered the spring season with a half-point lead over then second-place Wittenberg after accumulating a conference-high 45 points in the winter sports season.  Conference titles in men's and women's swimming and women's basketball followed their NCAC title in women's soccer in the fall to keep DU in first place heading to the decisive spring sports season.

This spring, DU added championships in men's lacrosse, softball and women's tennis to secure a tie for the All-Sports crown.  Overall, Denison finished with seven conference championships, two second-place finishes and 16 total top-five finishes en route to their 11th granite statue.

The final 2008-09 All-Sports standings are as follows: 1. Denison (159.5); 1. Ohio Wesleyan; 3. Wittenberg (147.0); 4. Allegheny (141.0); 5. Wooster (139.5); 6. Kenyon (137.5); 7. Oberlin (108.5); 8. Wabash (66.0); 9. Hiram (57.5); 10. Earlham (51.0).

The NCAC All-Sports Championship is awarded annually to the school that performs best across the NCAC's 22 sponsored sports. Ten points are awarded for a first-place finish, nine for a second, eight 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. Denison leads all NCAC institutions with 11 All-Sports Awards.  Ohio Wesleyan is second with nine trophy's followed by Wooster (five) and Wittenberg (one).

View All-Sports Grid [pdf]