SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – North Dakota State captured the 2025-26 Summit League Commissioner’s Cup, securing the department’s fourth overall all-sports title and first since the 2017-18 campaign. The Bison accumulated 87 total points across men’s and women’s competition to finish ahead of South Dakota State (81.5) and South Dakota (80.5) in one of the closest races in recent years.

The Bison became the first school other than SDSU to earn the league’s top all-sports honor since South Dakota won the cup in 2018-19. North Dakota State previously claimed Commissioner’s Cup titles in 2011-12, 2016-17, and 2017-18. NDSU is one of four institutions to win the award since its inception in 1995-96.

Under the direction of Director of Athletics Matt Larsen, the Bison assembled a balanced season highlighted by championships in men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, men’s basketball and men’s golf. NDSU also swept the men’s and women’s regular season basketball titles. The Bison added valuable points throughout the fall, winter and spring seasons to edge the rest of the field and finish 5.5 points clear of the Jackrabbits.

North Dakota State also claimed the Dr. William Steinbrecher Men’s All-Sports Award after totaling 38 points on the men’s side. SDSU finished second with 31 points, while South Dakota placed third with 29 points. The Bison men were paced by strong finishes across multiple sports during the winter and spring championship seasons.

South Dakota earned the Dr. Helen Smiley Women’s All-Sports Award for the eighth time in the last 11 years after finishing with 51.5 points. The Coyotes narrowly edged SDSU, which totaled 50.5 points, while North Dakota State finished third with 49 points. South Dakota used consistent performances throughout the year to secure the women’s crown in one of the tightest finishes in award history.

Summit League Commissioner Josh Fenton presented the trophies to North Dakota State and South Dakota at the League’s annual Joint Council meetings held in Minneapolis this year prior to the 2026 Summit League Baseball Championship.

SDSU placed second in the Commissioner's Cup race with 81.5 points after entering the year having won five consecutive Commissioner’s Cups and a league-record 10 overall titles. The Jackrabbits had previously captured the award in 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25.

South Dakota finished a close third with 80.5 points. The Coyotes, who won the Commissioner’s Cup in 2018-19, remained firmly in contention throughout the spring championship season.

St. Thomas finished fourth for the third consecutive season with 67.5 points, while Denver rounded out the top five with 63 points behind another strong year in the league’s Olympic sports.

North Dakota took sixth with 57 points, narrowly ahead of Oral Roberts, who finished seventh with 56.5 points. The Golden Eagles remain one of the most decorated programs in Commissioner’s Cup history with nine all-time titles, including five consecutive from 2005-06 through 2009-10.
Omaha finished eighth with 49 points and Kansas City rounded out the standings with 37 points.

The Cup is given annually to the member institution that collects the most combined points in relationship to its placement in the regular season standings for men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, softball and baseball and its championship placement in men’s and women’s cross country, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and golf.

The All-Sports Awards are given to the institutions that accumulate the most points in men's sports and women's sports. The men's award is named for former Valparaiso Director of Athletics Dr. William Steinbrecher, who guided the Crusaders from 1979-2004, while the women's award is named for former Western Illinois Director of Athletics Dr. Helen Smiley, who headed WIU's athletic program from 1994-2001.

Standings for the 2025-26 Commissioner's Cup and the Dr. William Steinbrecher Men's All-Sports and Dr. Helen Smiley Women's All-Sports Awards are listed below. The breakdown of each institution's points and finishes within each sport can be found on the Commissioner's Cup webpage.

2025-26 FINAL STANDINGS
Commissioner’s Cup