GREENVILLE, S.C. - A Conference Carolinas championship in swimming, followed by a runner-up finish in wrestling has the UNC Pembroke athletics department sitting at the top of the overall Joby Hawn Cup and men's cup standings after the conclusion of the winter sports season, the Conference Carolinas office announced Thursday.
The Braves have currently earned 81-percent of possible points through two season to sit at the top of the standings, while Converse picked up bonus points in three winter sports and is in second earning 71.1 percent of points. North Greenville rounded out the top three in third place earning 70.5 percent of possible points.
On the men's side, the Black & Gold lead the race earning 94.1 percent of possible points. Young Harris sits in second place with 91-percent of possible points, with North Greenville capped off the top three with 71.6 percent of possible points earned.
For the women's side, the Braves currently sit tied for fifth place with 70.6 percent of possible points earned through the winter championships. Lees-McRae leads the women's race earning 80.1 percent of possible points, while Francis Marion is in second place with 78.2 percent of possible points. Belmont Abbey and North Greenville are tied for third with 73.1 percent of points earned, while Converse is tied with UNCP in fifth place.
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.
