LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – At the conclusion of all eight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference fall championships, East Stroudsburg University has earned first place in the 2023-24 Dixon Trophy standings.
The Dixon Trophy is awarded at the end of each academic year to the league’s most successful program based on conference playoff and/or regular-season finishes. Standings are compiled based on average score for all PSAC championship sports each school sponsors. Equal to its total membership, each conference sport champion is awarded 18 points and a descending point value is given for respective place finishes. The second-through last-place values vary depending on the number of teams that sponsor the sport.
East Stroudsburg has an overall average of 13.86 after competing in five fall championships. On the women’s side, ESU won the PSAC field hockey championship and finished as a semifinalist in the volleyball tournament. For the men, East Stroudsburg football had a strong 9-3 overall record (tied for the third-best record in the conference.) Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams earned fourth-place finishes in the team standings at the 2023 PSAC meet to rack up even more points for the Warriors.
The Gannon Golden Knights, who have claimed the last two Dixon Trophies, are currently in second place with an average of 12.93. Gannon’s women’s volleyball team won the PSAC volleyball championship, while its women’s soccer team was runner-up in the 2023 championship game. For the men, Gannon’s golf team finished third at the conference championship and men’s soccer was a tournament semifinalist.
Kutztown (12.17 points), Slippery Rock (11.71), and Shippensburg (10.71) round out the top five of the current standings.
Kutztown leads all men’s sports with an average of 15.00 thanks to--in large part--its PSAC football championship game victory. For women's sports, East Stroudsburg leads with a 14.14 overall average.
Introduced in the 1995-96 academic year, the award is named in honor of F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., former chairman of Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's Board of Governors. Since then, nine PSAC institutions have claimed the Dixon Trophy. Shippensburg leads the conference with eight victories, followed by West Chester’s five. Lock Haven and Bloomsburg have three titles apiece, while California and Gannon follow with two victories. Kutztown, Slippery Rock, and Millersville have each won once.
The next update of the Dixon Trophy standings will be released following the conclusion of the winter championship season in early March.