PITMAN—The College of New Jersey captured its first NJAC Cup in the 2017-18 academic year, announced at the annual NJAC Awards Brunch on Sunday, June 3. The Lions earned the Cup in its third year of existence, after Rowan won the first two years.

At its 2015 Retreat, the NJAC Board of Athletic Administrators voted unanimously to establish and award an annual all-sports trophy to one NJAC full-member institution in recognition of overall athletic program excellence. 

"It's been a really fun year for TCNJ Athletics," Executive Director of Athletics Amanda DeMartino said. "Our coaches and staff work so hard every day to provide the best college and championship experience for our student-athletes.? When those efforts are rewarded in the form of team success and student-athlete experience it's a really special feeling and we are very proud to earn this honor."

In the year long competition, each full-member institution is scored based on its finish in the final regular season standings or in the conference championship meet (for cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field) in the 19 sports that are sponsored by the NJAC. NJAC conference tournament results, NCAA postseason results, and ECAC postseason results are not factored into the scoring.          

The number of points awarded in each sport is determined by the number of conference participants in that sport. The total number of points earned by each school is divided by the total number of points possible based on a school’s sport sponsorship pattern to determine a percentage. The institution with the highest percentage at the end of the academic year is awarded the NJAC Cup.

TCNJ claimed NJAC Championships in women’s cross country, field hockey, women’s tennis, women’s indoor track & field, and women’s lacrosse, and NJAC regular season titles in softball and baseball. The Lions also notched NJAC top-four finishes in men's cross country, women's swimming & diving, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor track & field, women's basketball, men's basketball, women's outdoor track & field, and women's outdoor track and field.

A total of 12 TCNJ teams participated in the NCAA postseason, and a league-high 176 Lions garnered all-conference honors.

Final 2017-18 NJAC Cup Standings