RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Harding owns the lead in the race for the Great American Conference All-Sports Commissioner’s Cup and the President’s Trophy following the fall sports seasons. The Bisons lead Ouachita Baptist, by 2.5 points for the Commissioner’s Cup and by almost five percentage points for the President’s Trophy.
The Bisons claimed regular-season titles in football and soccer. The Lady Bisons doubled up and won the GAC Championship title for the first time since 2016. The football team completed their third undefeated regular season. They have advanced to the Division II National Championship game for the second time in three seasons. The Lady Bisons’ volleyball team finished second, the men’s cross country team placed third while the women’s side took fifth.
Ouachita Baptist ended the fall in second place in both standings. The Tigers won the regular-season title in volleyball for the first time in program history. They added a runner-up finish in women’s cross country and a third-place result in women’s soccer.
East Central claimed third in the Commissioner’s Cup standings while Arkansas Tech placed third in the President’s Trophy race. In October, the Tigers won their 11th men’s cross country title. They went on to clinch a spot to the NCAA National Championships following a third-place showing at the Central Region Championships. The ECU women finished third. The Golden Suns won their first Women’s Cross Country titles following four runner-up results the previous five seasons. Tech’s football and volleyball teams each tied for fourth in the regular season. The Wonder Boys earned a bowl bid for the first time since 2017.
Southwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma Baptist placed fifth in the President’s Trophy and Commissioner’s Cup, respectively. The Bulldogs took second in women’s soccer and third in volleyball. The Bison finished second to ECU at the Men’s Cross Country Championships and added top-four results in volleyball and women’s cross country. The volleyball team won their fourth GAC Championship title.
Southern Arkansas and Henderson State sit in seventh and eighth in both standings. Both the Muleriders and Reddies tied for second in football.
Southeastern Oklahoma State, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Southern Nazarene and Arkansas-Monticello round out the standings.
The GAC determines the winner of the Commissioner’s Cup to the GAC school that totals the most cumulative points in the 14 countable sports of men’s and women’s cross country, football, volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s tennis, men’s women’s track & field, men’s and women’s golf, softball and baseball while the President’s Trophy goes to the program that earns the highest percentage of points based on the sports they sponsor.