Northern Arizona Wins Men’s All-Sports Trophy for 18th Time; Montana State Narrowly Misses Out on Third Consecutive Win

Montana State’s men’s all-sports team narrowly fell short of winning its third consecutive Big Sky Conference trophy as Northern Arizona emerged victorious with a score of 8.4 to 8.0. This marked the 18th time since the league introduced the all-sports trophy in 1963-64 that Northern Arizona has won it, with Montana coming in at third place with a score of 7.6. On the women’s side, Montana State earned the all-sports trophy, thanks to their impressive performance in several sports throughout the season.

Northern Arizona secured conference championships in men’s cross country, indoor track and field, and tennis during the past season. The team also finished as runners-up in men’s outdoor track and field and ranked fifth in football and seventh in basketball.

Montana State, on the other hand, clinched the Big Sky men’s title in outdoor track and field, was the runner-up in football, cross country, and indoor track and field. The Bobcats also placed fifth in tennis and basketball, winning the basketball tournament championship.

The standings for the men’s all-sports trophy are determined by a formula that takes into account each school’s regular season finishes or conference tournament/championship results for all conference-sponsored sports offered by the institution. Points for basketball, football, and tennis are awarded based on regular season finishes, while track and field, cross country, and golf accumulate points based on conference tournament/championship outcomes. Points for indoor and outdoor track and field are averaged to create a consolidated score for track and field.

In the 2023-24 Men’s All-Sports Trophy Standings, Northern Arizona ranked first with 8.4 points