Tuesday, May 30, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the second year in a row and the 14th time in conference history, Western Washington is the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s All-Sports Champion.

Using a base of six conference championships during the course of the 2022-23 season, the Vikings claimed the overall championship with a score of 8.77. That was a point and a half ahead of second-place Western Oregon, which finished with an overall score of 7.25. Simon Fraser was third with a score of 7.25.

The Vikings also swept the men’s and women’s all-sports championships for the second year in a row and for the 10th time in conference history. The men finished with a score of 8.01 to finish well ahead of second-place Western Oregon (7.22) and third-place Northwest Nazarene (6.79). The women compiled a score of 8.23, a point and a half ahead of second-place Simon Fraser (6.53) and over two points ahead of third-place Western Oregon (6.16).

“It was another fantastic year for our student-athletes, which resulted in another GNAC All-Sports Championship,” said Western Washington interim director of athletics Steve Brummel. “Our coaches do an excellent job preparing our teams to be the best they can be in every facet of the student-athlete experience. Congratulations to all of our student-athletes and coaches on this fantastic award.”

Western Washington’s ascent to the top of the all-sports podium was buoyed by six conference championships, twice that of any other institution. The Vikings won men’s championships in cross country and outdoor track and field and claimed women’s titles in basketball, cross country, soccer and outdoor track and field.

Western Oregon was closest to WWU with three championships in baseball and men’s and women’s indoor track and field. Northwest Nazarene (men’s soccer, softball) and Simon Fraser (men’s and women’s golf) won two championships apiece. Alaska Anchorage (volleyball), Saint Martin’s (men’s basketball) and affiliate member Central Oklahoma (women’s rowing) each won one conference championship.

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.

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.