SPOKANE, Wash. (July 26, 2026) – Northern Arizona University has been awarded the Big Sky Conference Presidents’ Cup for the 2025-26 athletic calendar, marking the sixth time in school history the Lumberjacks have taken home this prestigious honor.
With their sixth title, the Lumberjacks have tied Weber State University for the most Presidents’ Cup honors all time. The league first implemented this award at the conclusion of the 2002-03 season.
The announcement was made this evening as part of the Big Sky Conference Kickoff Weekend at Northern Quest Resort & Casino.
Complete standings can be found below.
The Presidents’ Cup is given annually to the school that excels both academically and athletically and is measured by various categories. Final regular-season standings in eight of the league’s 16 sports make up the athletic portion of the Presidents’ Cup criteria. Points are also awarded in men’s and women’s cross-country, indoor and outdoor track & field, and men
’s and women’s golf according to a team’s finish at the Big Sky Championship. Teams receive an average point total per sport and then are ranked accordingly.
The academic tier measures the academic progress rate (APR) from the previous year, and each team’s grade point average (GPA) in Big Sky sponsored sports for the current year.
NAU led the Big Sky in total conferences titles, winning nine during the 2025-26 season (men’s cross country, women’s cross country, volleyball regular season, men’s indoor track & field, women’s indoor track & field, women’s golf, men’s tennis regular season, men’s tennis tournament and men’s outdoor track & field).
Men’s distance runner Colin Sahlman had a banner season for the Lumberjacks, which included a trio of individual national championships across both the men’s indoor and outdoor campaigns.
Northern Arizona racked up 192 (77 Fall, 57 Winter, 58 Spring) All-Academic honors from the Big Sky through the course of the year. Their Scholar Athletes included former Big Sky Women’s Golf Champion Lizzie Neale and All-American distance runner Cael Grotenhuis.
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2025-26 Big Sky Presidents’ Cup Final Standings
1: Northern Arizona
T2: Idaho
T2: Montana State
T4: Idaho State
T4: Weber State
6: Montana
7: Eastern Washington
8: Northern Colorado
9: Sacramento State
10: Portland State
Historical Presidents’ Cup Winners
2002-03: Weber State
2003-04: Weber State
2004-05: Montana State
2005-06: Northern Arizona
2006-07: Montana
2007-08: Weber State
2008-09: Weber State
2009-10: Eastern Washington
2010-11: Montana
2011-12: Montana State
2012-13: Northern Arizona
2013-14: Northern Arizona
2014-15: Eastern Washington
2015-16: Eastern Washington
2016-17: North Dakota
2017-18: Eastern Washington
2018-19: Weber State
2019-20: Not Awarded (COVID)
2020-21: Northern Arizona
2021-22: Northern Arizona
2022-23: Montana State
2023-24: Weber State
2024-25: Idaho
2025-26: Northern Arizona