Nighthawks win PBC Commissioner's Cup
Article By: Staff
The University of North Georgia (UNG) was awarded with the 2023-24 Peach Belt Conference Commissioner's Cup at the league's annual awards dinner May 28 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The Cup is the second for UNG, the first of which came in 2017.
The Commissioner's Cup is presented annually to the best overall athletic department based on regular-season standings and select championship results from cross country, golf, and track and field. UNG earned 75 of a possible 96 total points for a .781 rating.
"I am so proud of our entire athletics team," UNG President Michael Shannon said. "Our student-athletes, coaches and administrators continue to deliver the most competitive, value-added Division II athletics program in the nation."
The Nighthawks were among the most competitive athletic programs in the country in 2023-24, winning PBC regular-season championships in women's soccer, softball and men's golf.
While PBC postseason success does not count toward Commissioner's Cup standings, UNG also won the PBC tournaments in men's basketball and women's tennis and the PBC championship in men's golf with finals appearances in softball and women's golf.
The Nighthawks were also second in the PBC regular season in women's cross country, men's basketball, women's tennis, and women's golf. Ten of UNG's 12 PBC teams finished in the top half of the final league standings.
"We are so grateful to see our student-athletes and coaches honored for their exceptional performance during the 2023-24 season," Athletics Director Mary Rob Plunkett said. "They consistently rise to the occasion at the conference and national levels and represent UNG so well in the classroom, the community and competition."
The PBC Commissioner's Cup is determined by calculating the number of points possible to each school, given the number of sports they participate in, divided by the number of points earned during the year. Points are determined by placement in the final regular-season standings in each PBC championship sport except cross country, golf, and track and field, in which points are decided based on placement in their respective PBC championship.
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