Posted: Dec 05, 2024 By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information & Kyle Schwartz, OVC Media Relations BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – After the conclusion of the fall sport championships, Tennessee Tech is in the lead for the 2024-25 Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Cup all-sport trophy standings; the Cup represents overall athletic achievement in Conference-sponsored championships. The Golden Eagles […]
Posted: Dec 05, 2024
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information & Kyle Schwartz, OVC Media Relations
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – After the conclusion of the fall sport championships, Tennessee Tech is in the lead for the 2024-25 Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Cup all-sport trophy standings; the Cup represents overall athletic achievement in Conference-sponsored championships.
The Golden Eagles benefited from winning first-place regular-season titles in women’s soccer and football, along with third-place finishes in women’s cross country and volleyball.
TTU accumulated 41 points, surpassing second-place Southeast Missouri (37) by four points. Lindenwood (34.5) stands in third, trailed by Southern Indiana (32.5), Eastern Illinois (31), and Little Rock (30). The standings conclude with Western Illinois (27), UT Martin (26.5), Morehead State (23.5), SIUE (22), and Tennessee State (15.5).
The 2024-25 season signifies the 17th year for the Commissioner’s Cup, formerly referred to as the All-Sports Trophy. The accolade, initiated in 1962-63 for men’s sports and 1980-81 for women’s sports, was once segmented into a Men’s All-Sport Champion and a Women’s All-Sport Champion. Points were allocated for each of the 19 sponsored sports, and each institution had to compile its totals from each sport into a grand total.
With the current points structure (revised in 2022-23), schools now count 13 sports in the final rankings. Among these, institutions must include points from three major sports (men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and volleyball) as well as the top-scoring men’s and women’s track & field sports (whether cross country, indoor track & field, or outdoor track & field). Schools that offer football must consider it as one of their 13 sports.
Points are allocated based on the number of schools sponsoring the sport (for instance, if 11 schools support the sport, the champion receives 11 points, followed by 10 points for second place, 9 points for third place, etc.).
Moreover, champions of OVC Tournaments (in women’s soccer, men’s soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis, beach volleyball, softball, and baseball) earn an extra bonus point, as does the football champion or co-champions.
This year, 13 OVC Championships remain (in rifle, men’s indoor track & field, women’s indoor track & field, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s tennis, beach volleyball, women’s golf, men’s golf, women’s outdoor track & field, men’s outdoor track & field, softball, and baseball); additionally, men’s tennis teams engage in a 6-team “South Division” with the Horizon League, where points are allocated based on the finishing order in the division standings.
The Golden Eagles’ highest finish in the pursuit of the OVC Commissioner’s Cup occurred in 2022-23, where they secured second place overall. The record for points in a single academic year for Tech is 101.5, achieved during the 2016-17 season.