FARMINGTON, Utah (May 22, 2024) – The Northern Arizona University athletic department claimed its 18
th Big Sky Conference Men's All-Sport Trophy, as announced by the league office this morning.
The Men's All-Sports Trophy standings are determined by a formula that takes into account each school's regular-season finish or conference tournament/championship result for all conference-sponsored sports the institution offers. Basketball, football and tennis awards points based on regular-season finishes, while points for track & field, cross country and golf are awarded based on conference tournament/championship results. Indoor and outdoor track and field points are averaged to create one score for track and field.
The Lumberjacks won three conference titles in men's cross country, men's indoor track and regular season men's tennis.
The announcement comes a day after the NAU women finished runner-up in the Big Sky Women's All-Sport Trophy standings, winning conference championships in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field plus a Western Athletic Conference title in swimming and diving. In all, the Northern Arizona athletic department won seven conference championships during the 2023-24 academic year.
Northern Arizona boasts the most All-Sport trophies in conference history and won seven-straight beginning in 2013-14. After finishing runner-up to Montana State for two-straight years, the Lumberjacks topped the standings with 8.4 points, edging the Bobcats who finished second with 8.0 points. The full results for the 2023-24 Men's All-Sports Trophy can be found below.
NAU began the year by winning its third-straight title in cross country, placing all scorers in the top-eight after being led by
Nico Young who won his second-straight individual title. The men would go on to complete one of the best seasons in program history, winning the Mountain Regional and going on to place runner-up at the Division I National Championships.
On the track, the Lumberjacks cruised to their 12
th-straight conference indoor title before going on to finish fourth at the NCAA National Championships where
Garret Bernt earned All-American status in the weight throw with a third-place finish, and Young won the individual 5k title. Outdoors, the men came one-point shy of the championship, finishing runner-up to Montana State.
Men's tennis clinched a share of the regular season title and went on to earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, falling to Sacramento State in the championship match. The 'Jacks finished undefeated at home in Flagstaff and boasted six All-Conference honors.
Football contributed to the title by finishing fifth in the conference with a 5-3 Big Sky record, its best since 2017. NAU picked up three ranked victories, including one over national runner-up, Montana, and had eight All-Conference honors.
Men's basketball finished seventh in the regular season standings and were led by first-team selection,
Trent McLaughlin.
Men's All-Sports Trophy Standings
1. Northern Arizona – 8.4
2. Montana State – 8.0
3. Montana – 7.6
4. Weber State – 6.5
5. Idaho – 5.1
T6. Eastern Washington – 4.7
T6. Idaho State – 4.7
8. Sacramento State – 4.3
9. Northern Colorado – 3.5
10. Portland State – 3.0
