While the common perception by many at Grand Valley State University is that all the athletic programs do is win, this year’s success on the field has proven that perception is reality – a reality for the 14th-consecutive year.

GVSU won the GLIAC Presidents’ Trophy, an award given to the GLIAC school with the most on-field success throughout the year, for the 14th-straight year last week.

Criterion for the award is a point system based on the success of athletic teams throughout the 2011-12 season. With the men’s and women’s teams combining for 11 GLIAC Championships this year, GVSU walked away with the award with 195 point, 25.5 points better than second place Ashland University.

Points are awarded based on the final conference standings – except in cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor track and field and swimming and diving, which uses the team’s finish in the conference tournament.

A first-place finish results in 13 to 14 points, depending on the sport and the number of schools within the conference participating. Along with the 12 full-time members, the University of Indianapolis (football, swimming and diving) and Lewis University (swimming and diving) are associate members of the conference, participating in select sports and not all.

With that, GVSU finished atop the standings in large part due to their success on the women’s side. The women finished the year with 104.5 points – the best women’s mark in the conference – with conference championships in golf, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball, cross country and soccer.

The men weren’t far behind, finishing the year at the top of the men’s side with 90.5 points. They won conference titles in indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball, golf and cross-country.

GVSU has won the award 19 times in all, the highest total among GLIAC schools.

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