2017-18 Sasser Cup Champion and All-Sports Winners Announced
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – The Big South Conference announced the winners of its 2017-18 team awards Thursday evening at the league’s annual Spring Meetings Awards and Hall of Fame Dinner, and for the first time, High Point University captured the Women’s All-Sports Award and Campbell University claimed the Men’s All-Sports Award. Meanwhile, Liberty University was the recipient of the Big South Conference’s George F. “Buddy” Sasser Cup Trophy for the 2017-18 athletic season.
High Point claimed its first Big South Team Award with an average of 9.44 points in eight women’s sports (75.5 total points earned) in 2017-18. The Panthers won the women’s cross country, women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse championships, was the regular-season co-champion in women’s soccer, and won the regular-season crowns in volleyball and women’s lacrosse. High Point also received a bonus point for its at-large berth in the NCAA Volleyball Championship. Liberty was second to High Point with its average of 9.36 points (84.25 points earned in nine sports), while Campbell placed third in the Women’s All-Sports race with its average of 7.65 (76.5 points earned in 10 sports).
The Camels won their first Big South Men’s All-Sports Award and fourth overall Team Award with their average of 9.13 points in eight sports. Campbell won championships in men’s cross country, men’s tennis and baseball, as well as the regular-season title in baseball, in addition to a runner-up finish in men’s golf. CU received a bonus point for its at-large selection in the NCAA Men’s Golf Regionals. Liberty was second in the Men’s All-Sports standings with an average of 8.33 (75 points in nine sports), followed by High Point at 6.93 (48.5 points earned in seven sports).
In 2017-18, Liberty averaged 8.85 Sasser Cup points in 18 championship sports and accumulated a total of 155.25 points based on its finish in conference championships. The Flames won 10 combined Big South championships in 2017-18 -- three regular-season titles and seven tournament crowns. Liberty won the regular-season title in women’s basketball and softball, and shared the championship in women’s soccer, while claiming the conference tournament championship in men’s and women’s indoor track & field, women’s basketball, men’s golf, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field. and softball.
Campbell finished second to Liberty this season with an 8.31 Sasser Cup average in 18 sports and totaled 149.5 points for its second consecutive runner-up finish. High Point was third in the standings (8.28 average), and was followed by Radford (6.48) and Charleston Southern (5.88). The Panthers notched their seventh top three standing in the last eight years, the Highlanders recorded a top five finish for the third time in four years, and the Buccaneers were among the top five for the first time since 2012-13.
The Sasser Cup Trophy is named for former Big South Commissioner Buddy Sasser and is awarded to the Big South member institution with the most successful year athletically, based on an average points system. Points are awarded for both regular-season and tournament finishes in each of the League’s 19 championships, and the average of the combined total is used to determine the overall point allocation in the respective sport. One bonus point is added to the average total for each Conference Champion/AQ representative, as well as any teams that receive at-large NCAA Championships berths. Teams tied in regular-season or tournament play split the points earned. Each member’s overall point totals are then divided by the number of sports sponsored by that school to determine the average.
The complete listing of the 2017-18 Sasser Cup and All-Sports standings appear below, as well as the annual Sasser Cup champions.
| Women's All-Sports Award |
Average |
| 1 - High Point |
9.44 |
| 2 - Liberty |
9.36 |
| 3 - Campbell |
7.65 |
| 4 - Radford |
6.50 |
| 5 - Winthrop |
5.75 |
| 6 - UNC Asheville |
5.25 |
| 7 - Charleston Southern |
5.17 |
| 8 - Longwood |
4.85 |
| 9 - Presbyterian College |
3.63 |
| 10 - Gardner-Webb |
3.60 |
| Men's All-Sports Award |
Average |
| 1 - Campbell |
9.13 |
| 2 - Liberty |
8.33 |
| 3 - High Point |
6.93 |
| 4 - Charleston Southern |
6.75 |
| 5 - Radford |
6.46 |
| 6 - Winthrop |
5.41 |
| 7 - Gardner-Webb |
5.39 |
| 8 - UNC Asheville |
4.75 |
| 9 - Presbyterian College |
4.18 |
| 10 - Longwood |
3.54 |
| Sasser Cup Award |
Average |
| 1 - Liberty |
8.85 |
| 2 - Campbell |
8.31 |
| 3 - High Point |
8.28 |
| 4 - Radford |
6.48 |
| 5 - Charleston Southern |
5.86 |
| 6 - Winthrop |
5.60 |
| 7 - UNC Asheville |
5.02 |
| 8 - Gardner-Webb |
4.45 |
| 9 - Longwood |
4.25 |
| 10 - Presbyterian College |
3.88 |
Annual Sasser Cup Champions
2017-18 - Liberty
2016-17 - Liberty
2015-16 - Liberty
2014-15 - Coastal Carolina
2013-14 - Coastal Carolina
2012-13 - Liberty
2011-12 - Liberty
2010-11 - Liberty
2009-10 - Liberty
2008-09 - Liberty
2007-08 - Liberty
2006-07 - Coastal Carolina
2005-06 - Coastal Carolina
2004-05 - Coastal Carolina
2003-04 - Coastal Carolina
2002-03 - Liberty
2001-02 - Liberty
2000-01 - Coastal Carolina
1999-00 - Liberty
1998-99 - Liberty
1997-98 - Liberty
1996-97 - UNC Greensboro
1995-96 - UNC Greensboro
1994-95 - UNC Greensboro
1993-94 - Campbell
1992-93 - Campbell
1991-92 - Campbell
1990-91 - Coastal Carolina
1989-90 - Coastal Carolina
1988-89 - Coastal Carolina
1987-88 - Coastal Carolina
1986-87 - Winthrop
1985-86 - Winthrop