LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University has earned the honor as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s most successful institution in 2023-24 and has been awarded the Dixon Trophy, as announced by the conference on Wednesday morning.
It is the second time Slippery Rock has won the trophy and first since the 2007-08 season, joining California and Gannon as the only other two-time winners -- as well as tying those two for the most Dixon Trophies awarded to PSAC Western Division campuses.
This year marks the 27th occasion the PSAC has recognized a Dixon Trophy recipient, awarded annually to the institution that accumulates the top score based on results of conference playoffs and/or regular-season records. The trophy is named in honor of F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., former chairman of the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education.
The award is given to the program which generates the top average point value among each PSAC Championship sport it sponsors. Each sport champion earns 18 points - based on the league's membership total - and descending point values are awarded for respective placement.
Slippery Rock topped the rest of PSAC competition with an average point total of 12.76.
Gannon University was a close runner-up with a 12.53 average but was denied a third consecutive Dixon Trophy. East Stroudsburg University was third with an average of 11.73.
Placing fourth and fifth were West Chester University (11.20) and Kutztown University (11.03), respectively.
Slippery Rock earned key point accumulations from multiple sports in 2023-24. The women's indoor track and field and women's cross country teams both won PSAC Championships while The Rock tallied runner-up finishes in men's cross country, football, women's tennis, and women's outdoor track and field.
Slippery Rock's average of men's sports programs was a PSAC-leading 14.00, while Gannon led the women's average with a 13.56.
All-time, Shippensburg leads all PSAC institutions with eight Dixon Trophies while West Chester has received five. Bloomsburg and Lock Haven have three apiece, while California, Gannon, and now Slippery Rock are two-time winners. Kutztown and Millersville have each won a single Dixon Trophy.
Find a complete list of past Dixon Trophy winners below.
2022-23: Gannon
2021-22: Gannon
2020-21: Not awarded due to COVID-19
2019-20: Not awarded due to COVID-19
2018-19: West Chester
2017-18: West Chester
2016-17: Shippensburg
2015-16: West Chester
2014-15: West Chester
2013-14: California (Pa.)
2012-13: West Chester
2011-12: Bloomsburg
2010-11: Shippensburg
2009-10: Shippensburg
2008-09: California (Pa.)
2007-08: Slippery Rock
2006-07: Lock Haven
2005-06: Kutztown
2004-05: Shippensburg
2003-04: Shippensburg
2002-03: Shippensburg
2001-02: Lock Haven
2000-01: Lock Haven
1999-00: Millersville
1998-99: Shippensburg
1997-98: Shippensburg
1996-97: Bloomsburg
1995-96: Bloomsburg