BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — For the fifth-straight year, the Southwestern Athletic Conference has recognized Alabama State University as the winner of the James Frank Commissioner’s Cup.
The Hornets athletics program, which also won the Sadie Magee/Barbara Jacket Award for the sixth-consecutive year, earned eight SWAC championships this past year to garner the honors. Prairie View A&M won the C.D. Henry Award for the first time since the 2012-13 academic year. The trophies were formally presented at the league’s annual spring meetings.
Magee/Jacket Award
The Lady Hornets totaled 109 points to beat out second-place finisher Prairie View A&M (89.5 points), which recently claimed its first softball title in 20 years. The Lady Hornets captured six team titles, including women’s soccer, volleyball, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and tennis.
Alabama State also finished runner-up in the 2018 cross country championships and the 2018 softball tournament.
Rounding out the standings are Texas Southern (73), Grambling State (61), Alcorn State (54.5), Southern (52.5), Jackson State (50), Mississippi Valley State (45), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (44), and Alabama A&M (35.5).
The Magee/Jacket Award is presented to the top women’s athletic program in the SWAC. It is named after former Jackson State women’ basketball coach Sadie Magee and former Prairie View A&M track and field coach Barbara Jacket. Magee was the first women’s basketball coach at Jackson State, compiling four SWAC regular-season titles and three-straight National Association of Women’s Sports National Championships from 1978-1980.
Jacket led the Prairie View A&M to eight cross country, nine indoor and five outdoors SWAC titles from 1965 to 1991.
Jacket was also the head coach of the 1992 U.S. Women’s Olympic Track team that brought home won four gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals from Barcelona, Spain.
C.D. Henry Award
Prairie View A&M (75.5) edged Alabama State (73 points) to claim its first men’s all-sports award in five years. The Panthers captured team championships in men’s golf and men’s outdoor track and field. Additionally, Prairie View A&M collected runner-up finishes in men’s cross country and men’s indoor track and field.
Coming in third through tenth, respectively, were Jackson State (59), Texas Southern (58), Alcorn State (52), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (51.5), Grambling State (34), Mississippi Valley State (29.5), Alabama A&M (29) and Southern (18).
The Henry Award is presented to the top men’s athletic program in the SWAC. The award is named for C.D. Henry, former Grambling State chairman of the College of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Department from 1958-74, as well as serving as the executive officer and secretary-statistician for the SWAC in 1968-73.
Henry became the first African American assistant commissioner of any conference office when he joined the Big Ten Conference in June 1974.
James Frank Commissioner’s Cup
With 109 points from the Magee/Jacket Award and 73 from the Henry Award standings, ASU took first place with 182 total points. Prairie View A&M finished second with a combined 165 points.
Texas Southern finished third with 131 total points, and Jackson State tallied 109 total points to earn fourth place.
Alcorn State (106.5), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (97.5), Grambling State (95), Mississippi Valley State (76.5), Southern (70.5) and Alabama A&M (66.5) round out the final standings.
The Commissioner’s Cup, named for former league Commissioner James Frank who led the SWAC from 1983 through 1998, is awarded to the university compiling the highest combined total of men’s and women’s all-sports points.
Courtesy: ASU Athletics
CONGRATULATIONS !!!
ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY