GREENVILLE, S.C. - A Conference Carolinas championship in men's cross country, followed by a runner-up finish in football has the UNC Pembroke athletics department sitting tied for the overall Joby Hawn Cup standings and atop the standings for the men's cup after the conclusion of the fall sports season, the Conference Carolinas office announced Wednesday.
The Braves finished the fall season earning 83.3 percent of possible points and are tied with North Greenville for the overall standings. North Greenville picked up championships in football and women's cross country.
On the men's side, the Black & Gold lead the race earning 109.1 percent of possible points. Young Harris sits in second place with 101.7 percent of possible points, with North Greenville rounding out the top three with 81.1 percent of points.
For the women's side, the Braves currently sit in fifth place with 71.3 percent of possible points earned through the fall championships. North Greenville and Converse lead the pack tied for first earning 85.1 percent of points, with Lees-McRae in third place with 75.5 percent of points. Francis Marion is slightly ahead of UNCP in fourth place with 74.5 percent of points.
UNC Pembroke has won the overall Joby Hawn Cup for the last three seasons. The Braves also claimed the conference's biggest athletic prize following the 1983-84, 1988-89 and 1991-92 seasons. The Black & Gold have taken top honors on the men's side for three-straight seasons, and placed second following the 2024-25 athletics season. The Braves have claimed the women's cup the last three seasons as well. Following the 2023-24 season, it was the first time that a school has won all three Joby Hawn Cup trophies in back-to-back seasons.
The Joby Hawn Cup is the annual all-sports award for Conference Carolinas. Hawn Cup points are awarded in each sport based on the order of regular season finish and the number of participating teams in each sport. The institution that finishes in first place is awarded points equal to the number of institutions that sponsor the sport. The institution that finishes in second place is awarded one less point than first place, the institution that finishes in third place is awarded one less point than second place and the process continues until the institution that finished in last place is awarded one point.
In addition, bonus points are awarded to the tournament champion (two bonus points) and runner-up finisher (one bonus point). The total points earned from all sports for each institution is divided by the total possible points (excluding bonus points) for each institution based on sports sponsorship for each participating sport. Institutions are ranked by the resulting ratio of points earned to possible points.
The Hawn Cup is named after H.C. "Joby" Hawn, who in 1962 became the first full-time Commissioner of what was then known as the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and now Conference Carolinas. Following his retirement from the conference in 1976, Conference Carolinas began awarding the Hawn Cup annually in his honor.
