LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – West Chester University has earned the honor as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s most successful institution athletically in 2025-26 and has been awarded the Dixon Trophy, as announced by the conference on Wednesday afternoon.
This season marks the sixth time that West Chester has won the trophy, trailing only Shippensburg’s eight Dixon Trophies for the most all-time. The trophy also returns to the Eastern Division for the first time since 2018-19, which, coincidentally, was also a year in which WCU won it, ending a stretch of five Dixon Trophies in seven years for the Golden Rams.
This year marks the 29th 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 17 points - based on the league's membership total - and descending point values are awarded for respective placement.
West Chester topped the rest of PSAC competition with an average point total of 12.08.
Gannon, the defending Dixon Trophy honoree, was a close runner-up with a 11.75 average but was denied a second consecutive win. East Stroudsburg was third with an average of 11.47.
Placing fourth and fifth were IUP (10.97) and Slippery Rock (10.88), respectively.
West Chester earned key point accumulations from multiple sports in 2025-26. PSAC Championships were won by men’s golf and men’s/women’s swimming while runner-up finishes were tallied by baseball, and women’s outdoor track & field.
West Chester’s average of women's sports programs was a PSAC-leading 12.38. Gannon led the men’s average with a mark of 12.25.
All-time, Shippensburg leads all PSAC institutions with eight Dixon Trophies while West Chester has now received six. Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Gannon have three apiece, while California and 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.
2024-25: Gannon
2023-24: Slippery Rock
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