By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the fifth year in-a-row Western Washington topped the charts across the board in Great Northwest Athletic Conference competition, once again winning the GNAC All-Sports trophy and sweeping both genders.
 
The Vikings claimed a total of 10 GNAC regular-season championships throughout the 2025-26 academic year, posting a score of 9.38 points within the tabulation. That was enough for a landslide win over runner-up Central Washington, which totaled 6.96 points. WWU won the men’s all-sports trophy with 8.28 points and the women’s all-sports trophy with 9.03 points, making it the department’s sixth consecutive men’s title and fifth consecutive women’s title within the competition.
 
Since the league was formed in 2001-02, WWU has now claimed 17 GNAC All-Sports trophies, the most of any league member. WWU has won 18 men’s titles and 14 women’s titles within its collection of overall department crowns. WWU is under the leadership of athletic director Steve Brummel, who is in his 32nd overall year working within the department and his 12th within senior leadership at WWU.
 
WWU’s overall success came during a year in which each of the conference’s 10 full-time members took home at least one regular-season or conference tournament trophy. The Vikings got off to a good start, sweeping both the women’s and men’s cross country titles at the first championship of the year last fall in Billings, Mont. WWU then went on to claim the crowns in both women’s and men’s indoor and outdoor track & field, pushing its streak of titles across the three inter-connected sports to 20 in-a-row dating back to the spring of 2023. Head cross country and track & field coach Ben Stensland was voted as GNAC Coach of the Year across all six sports this season, helping lead the Vikings to another sweep on the cross country course and track & field.
 
The Western Washington women’s soccer team completed its second consecutive unbeaten campaign within league play, earning 36 points to win its second GNAC regular-season championship in-a-row. WWU swept the league table at 11-0-3 in conference contests behind GNAC Coach of the Year Travis Connell, who gave the program its record 11th GNAC regular-season title overall. Another trophy for the Vikings came in women’s basketball, where WWU surged through the second half of the conference schedule on its way to a league-winning record of 15-3. Head coach Carmen Dolfo delivered the Vikings’ seventh championship crown in women’s basketball, which is the second-most titles of any program in the sport. Dolfo was voted GNAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time.
 
WWU’s success continued into the spring, where it not only won GNAC titles in men’s golf and women’s rowing but took success to the national stage in both sports. The Vikings claimed their 10th NCAA Division II national championship trophy in women’s rowing, capping off a season that saw them win their third GNAC Championships trophy. Behind second-year head coach Courtney Moeller, WWU became the first GNAC women’s rowing program to win that conference championship on three different occasions. The Viking men’s golf team meanwhile kept its tradition of success alive, winning its record 12th GNAC Championships title before winning the NCAA super regional and advancing to the national championships. Luke Bennett was tabbed the GNAC Coach of the Year for men’s golf, after the team’s winning efforts at both the conference and regional tournaments.
 
Saint Martin’s had a string of success across the latter part of the academic year, winning its fourth men’s basketball regular-season title in March and following with its third softball crown in May. Behind GNAC Coach of the Year Aaron Landon, SMU went 15-3 in conference play to hoist the men’s basketball trophy for the fourth time in the last seven seasons. SMU went on to win its first-ever GNAC Championships trophy as well, sweeping the hardware this season. It had been more than a decade since the Saints claimed a trophy on the softball diamond, as GNAC Coach of the Year Jim Peterson rallied his squad to a league record of 18-6 to win the title on the final day of the regular season. It was SMU’s first softball championship since the 2015 campaign, with its other coming in 2013.
 
Also taking home two trophies during the 2025-26 academic year was Simon Fraser, which captured the women’s golf crown as well as a share of the GNAC volleyball regular-season championship. Krysta Schaus was once again voted GNAC Coach of the Year, after piloting the Red Leafs to their fourth consecutive championship in women’s golf. It also gave SFU seven total trophies in the sport, tying Western Washington for the most among GNAC schools.
 
The SFU volleyball team went 14-4 during league play, finishing in an unprecedented four-way tie for first place. The other co-champions were Central Washington, Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage, with each claiming a share of their lone GNAC trophy during the 2025-26 campaign. It marked the first time in GNAC history that more than two programs shared a conference regular-season title in any sport.
 
Another share of a conference title came in men’s soccer during the fall season, with Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific each posting identical records of 6-2-2 in conference play to tie atop the standings with 20 points apiece. The two teams then met again in the GNAC Championships title match, where Western Oregon managed an overtime goal for a 2-1 win to stake its claim as the first-ever winner of the men’s soccer conference tournament.
 
Northwest Nazarene kept its streak of dominance in baseball alive, winning both the regular-season and conference tournament trophies for the third consecutive campaign. Joe Schaefer was once again selected by his peers as GNAC Coach of the Year and led the Nighthawks all the way to the NCAA Super Regional Championships. NNU went 25-7 in conference play to secure its fifth regular-season trophy, before becoming the first baseball program to win three consecutive conference tournament crowns. It was also the Nighthawks’ fifth overall GNAC Championships trophy – second most among GNAC baseball teams.
 
There were also three non-regular season champions that claimed GNAC Championships trophies during the academic year. The lone GNAC trophy for Montana State Billings came in women’s basketball, as the Yellowjackets became the first-ever No. 6 seed to upset their way to the GNAC Championships trophy. After finishing as the runner-up in softball, Western Washington went on to become the first-ever GNAC team in that sport to take home three consecutive conference tournament crowns. It was a similar story in women’s soccer, where Simon Fraser finished second in the regular-season standings before winning its third straight GNAC Championships trophy in stunning, penalty-kick fashion.