After an impressive athletic and academic year for the Weber State University athletic department, WSU claimed the 2018-19 Big Sky Conference Presidents’ Cup.

Each year, the Presidents’ Cup promotes commitment to the school’s overall success both on the field and in the classroom.

“Weber State excels at promoting the success of our students in their academic and extracurricular activities, and the Big Sky Conference Presidents’ Cup is another manifestation of that,” WSU President Dr. Brad Mortensen said in a press release.

The cup is awarded annually to the program that succeeds athletically and academically, and is measured by a variety of categories.

“I’m very proud by the effort put forth by our student-athletes, coaches, athletics department, staff, broader range of faculty and boosters in the Weber State family for contributing to this great recognition,” Mortensen said.

The regular-season team standings in eight of the 14 spots make up the athletic tier. Points are also awarded for men’s and women’s cross country, indoor track and field and golf by their finish at the Big Sky Championships.

As far as for the academics, the tier measures the academic progress rate (APR) from the previous year and each team’s grade point average in Big Sky-sponsored sports.

After winning the first two cups in 2003 and 2004, Weber State added a league-leading fifth cup in the 17-year history of the award.

“We are thrilled to win the 2018-19 Big Sky Conference Presidents’ Cup,” Director of Athletics Tim Crompton said in a press release. “This honor shows the tremendous commitment by our athletes both on the field of play and in the classroom.”

The school year Weber State claimed Big Sky Championships in football, soccer and softball, both the football and soccer teams advanced to the NCAA Championships.

“This award is shared by all of our amazing student-athletes, as well as our faculty, administration, coaches, staff and supporters,” Crompton said. “We could not achieve this success without all of their support. This is a terrific honor for Weber State University.”

Weber State edged out Montana State by just a half a point as Northern Colorado finished in third, one point behind MSU.

A total of 114 teams from across the conference recorded a 3.0 GPA or higher, with all Big Sky members posting at least a 3.0 department-wide GPA.

“I would like to congratulate the student-athletes, coaches and administrators of Weber State for their outstanding efforts in the classroom and in their support to earn the Presidents’ Cup award for the 2018-19 school year,” Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a press release. “An award like this takes a team effort, and they rose to the occasion.”

Weber State will showcase the Presidents’ Cup trophy on campus for the 2019-20 school year.

In the 17-year history WSU has claimed the cup in 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009 and now 2019.