BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the third consecutive year, Western Washington University claimed the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Sports Championship

 

The Vikings took home eight GNAC regular-season titles during the 2023-24 season – and added two more postseason conference trophies – to make it three consecutive seasons sweeping the overall, men's and women's trophies. Since the conference was founded in 2001-02, WWU has claimed 15 of the GNAC All-Sports Championships, while winning 16 of the men's All-Sports trophies and 12 of the women's All-Sports trophies. Western has finished in the top two in the conference All-Sport standings every season.

 

The GNAC All-Sports Championship evaluates an institution's overall excellence in athletics over a given year. Scores are based on regular-season finishes in volleyball, men's & women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball, and softball, and conference meet finishes in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's and women's golf and women's rowing.

 

WWU finished with an average of 9.29 points in the overall race, finishing well ahead of second-place Simon Fraser (7.36 points) and third-place Central Washington (7.02 points). WWU's men's teams racked up an average of 8.40 points, with CWU's men finishing second at 7.03 points and Western Oregon's men taking third at 6.88 points. On the women's side, WWU averaged 9.15 points for first place, while SFU's women averaged 6.76 points for second and CWU's women averaged 6.21 points for third.

 

The Vikings success was fueled by winning eight of the 15 possible team titles, led by an unprecedented run by their cross country and track & field program, which became the first in GNAC history to claim all six possible trophies throughout an academic year. WWU kicked off the season by sweeping the men's and women's cross country championships in Anchorage in October, before opening the track & field campaign by sweeping both titles at the indoor championships in Spokane in February. Most recently, the Vikings completed the trifecta by taking both team titles at the outdoor championships in Ellensburg earlier this month.

 

WWU's other GNAC trophies included winning spring team titles at the Men's Golf Championships in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and capturing the Women's Rowing Championships title in Gold River, California. The Vikings added postseason conference championships (not factored into the scoring) in women's basketball and softball for 10 total GNAC conference championship trophies during the 2023-24 season.

 

In addition to the great success at the conference level, 10 of WWU's 15 intercollegiate varsity programs had representation at the NCAA Division II Championships level, including softball and women's cross country winning West Region titles, rowing making its 20th appearance in the national regatta and men's golf advancing to regional championship play for the 25th consecutive season.

 

With copy from Evan O'Kelly, GNAC Assistant Commissioner for Communications

 

This marks the 21st year the GNAC All-Sports Trophy has been awarded since conference was formed in 2001-02. WWU has placed in the top two in the conference in all 21 seasons, including winning top honors 15 times. There was no award presented in 2019-20 and 2020-21 due to the global pandemic.

 

 

The GNAC All-Sports Championship is determined using a unique points system, which gives each school an average score based on its finish in each conference sport and the number of GNAC sports sponsored by each institution. The averages are based on regular-season finishes in football, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball and conference meet finishes in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's and women's golf and women's rowing. From 2002 to 2016, the All-Sports Championship was based on a raw points system, with teams receiving points in two-point increments based on their finish that season. Since 2017, scoring has been based on the Dormeyer System, which determines an average score for each institution based on its finish in each conference sport and the number of GNAC sports sponsored by each institution.

 

Here is a look at the scoring breakdown and conference championships for each school in 2023-24:

 

 

2023-24 GNAC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS BY SCHOOL

• Western Washington (8): Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Men's Indoor Track & Field, Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's Outdoor Track & Field, Women's Outdoor Track & Field, Men's Golf, Women's Rowing
• Northwest Nazarene (2): Baseball, Softball
• Montana State Billings (2): Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
• Simon Fraser (2): Men's Soccer, Women's Golf
• Seattle Pacific (2): Volleyball, Women's Soccer