Denison Captures League-Leading 22nd All-Sports Trophy

CLEVELAND, OH -- Denison won seven outright league titles in baseball, men’s basketball, men's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women’s basketball, women's golf and women's lacrosse, shared the league title in field hockey and men's lacrosse and posted nine additional top-five finishes during the 2025-26 academic year to win its league-leading 22nd North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Championship. 

Beyond Denison’s nine championship titles, the Big Red posted three second-place showings in men's soccer, women’s swimming & diving and women's tennis, while also sharing second in women’s soccer. Denison also added a third-place finish in softball and three fourth place finishes in football, women’s outdoor track & field and volleyball to cement its spot atop the standings with a total of 202.5 points.

John Carroll, which completed its first year of NCAC competition, took second in the final standings behind Denison with 196.5 points. The Blue Streaks earned top-five finishes in 19 championship sports, which included winning conference titles in men's cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s indoor track & field and men’s and women's outdoor track & field. DePauw placed third with 192.5 points after logging 20 top-five finishes including the men’s soccer title and a share of both the field hockey and softball crowns. Kenyon finished fourth in the final standings with 169.0 points after capturing 14 top-five finishes, the league titles in women’s swimming & diving and women’s tennis and a share of the men’s lacrosse crown.

Wittenberg checked in at fifth with 157.5 points, 13 top-five finishes, the men’s indoor track & field title, its league-leading 27th women’s volleyball crown and a share of the softball title, while Ohio Wesleyan finished sixth overall with 153.5 points, after collecting the women’s cross country crown, a share of both the field hockey and men’s lacrosse titles and 10 other top-five finishes. Wooster finished seventh with 132.0 total points, which included a share of the men's lacrosse title along with seven top-five finishes, while Oberlin finished eighth with 118.5 points with a share of the men’s lacrosse title and four other top-five finishes. Wabash finished ninth overall with 76.0 total points and seven top-five finishes in 11 men's sports.

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 five-straight titles from 2022-25 to collect the last seven trophies.

Denison leads the way with 197 team championships during the NCAC's 42 playing seasons. Ohio Wesleyan is next with 168 titles, followed by Kenyon (146), Wittenberg (129), Allegheny (119), Wooster (86), DePauw (53), Wabash (36), Oberlin (28) Case Western Reserve (9), John Carroll (7) and Hiram and Earlham (2).
 

North Coast Athletic Conference 
2025-26 All-Sports Standings
(Final Update)
   OVERALL STANDINGS      
Men's Standings 1. Denison 202.5 Women's Standings
1. John Carroll   96.5 2. John Carroll 196.5  1. Denison 110.5
2.  Denison 92.0 3. DePauw 192.5  2. DePauw 103.0
3. DePauw 89.5 4. Kenyon 169.0  3.  John Carroll 100.0
4. Kenyon 77.5 5. Wittenberg 157.5  T4.  Kenyon 91.5
5. Wabash 76.0 6. Ohio Wesleyan 153.5  T4. Ohio Wesleyan 91.5
6. Wittenberg 71.5 7. Wooster 132.0  6.  Wittenberg 86.0
7. Wooster 64.5 8. Oberlin 118.5  7.  Wooster 67.5
8. Ohio Wesleyan 62.0 9. Wabash* 76.0  8.  Oberlin 58.0
9.  Oberlin 60.5 * - Wabash is an all-male institution

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