DePauw Wins First NCAC All-Sports Title; Tigers Claimed 18 Top-Five Finishes in 2011-12

2011-12 NCAC Final All-Sports Standings

DePauw University posted top-five finishes in 18 of 23 sports to earn the North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Championship in its inaugural season in the league. The Tigers opened the year with top-five finishes in six of the seven fall sports, including a share of the field hockey title with Denison, and vaulted into first place in the All-Sports standings after winning the women's basketball title outright in the winter season. DePauw capped off the year with a strong showing in the spring season, finishing in the top-five in seven of the 10 sports, including outright titles in women's golf and women's tennis. The Tigers secured the 2012 All-Sports title by compiling 153.5 total points, edging out second-place Denison (153.0) by a half a point.

Denison, which was third in the All-Sports standings after both the fall and winter seasons, moved into second place after totaling 153.0 points, including a conference leading 70.0 points for the spring season. The Big Red turned in 14 top-five finishes, including outright titles in men's swimming, women's swimming, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse, while sharing the title in field hockey with DePauw. Ohio Wesleyan finished third (151.5), followed by Wittenberg (137.0) and Allegheny (133.5) in fourth and fifth, respectively. Kenyon (129.0), Wooster (127.0), Oberlin (109.5), Wabash (73.0) and Hiram (47.0) rounded out position six through nine, respectively.

DePauw's championship season was highlighted by four NCAC titles. The Tigers also picked up two second-place finishes on the year in men's soccer and baseball to help secure the All-Sports victory.

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. Ten points are awarded for a first-place finish, nine for a second, eight 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), a tie between Denison and OWU in 2009, Wittenberg in 2010 and finally Denison's title last spring. 

Ohio Wesleyan leads the way with 133 team championships during the NCAC's 28 playing seasons. Denison is next with 121 titles, followed by Allegheny (108), Kenyon (97) , Wittenberg (75), Wooster (73), Wabash (12), Oberlin (11), DePauw (4) and Hiram (2).