STEPHENVILLE, Texas – After eight conference championships in 2025-26, Tarleton State Athletics claimed the ultimate prize for overall performance across all sports – the Western Athletic Conference Commissioner's Cup.
 
The WAC announced on Monday that Tarleton State is the 2025-26 WAC Commissioner's Cup champion, the Texans' first time winning it all in their sixth year in the conference.
 
"This has been a strategic goal of ours since entering the conference and transitioning to NCAA Division I status not long ago," Tarleton State President Dr. James Hurley said. "It's a great metric to crown who had the best athletic program across all sports in the conference. With eight conference championships, elite seasons from nearly each of our programs, and a great amount of individual championships and awards, we shined throughout the 2025-2026 year. Texan Nation, make no mistake, this was the year for Texan Athletics."
 
The WAC Commissioner's Cup is awarded to the institution with the most points at the end of the academic year. Schools count their top-14 finishes out of a possible 17 WAC-sponsored sports. Points are awarded in order of finish in each sport. An institution that does not sponsor a specific sport does not receive any points. Only the regular season is counted for the sports of soccer, volleyball, football, basketball, softball and baseball. For the sports of cross country, indoor track and field, golf, women's tennis and outdoor track and field, points are determined using the WAC's championship results. Affiliates will be used as a placeholder in the standings or championship results but are not scored in the overall Commissioner's Cup standings. Any team that earns an NCAA AQ from a WAC Championship is also awarded two points. Teams advancing in the NCAA tournament receive an additional two points per round advanced. An individual national champion will earn their program two additional points, while an individual runner-up or third-place finisher will earn their program one additional point.
 
Tarleton State becomes the first different WAC Commissioner's Cup champion in the past five years and is the 11th different institution to win the WAC Commissioner's Cup since the conference began the award in 2002, joining Grand Canyon, Utah Valley, New Mexico State, Idaho, UTSA, Fresno State, Boise State, Nevada, Rice and SMU.
 
"For those of us who have been part of this journey from the very beginning, who believed in what Tarleton State could become and stood behind this university through every step of reclassification — this moment is deeply special," said Dr. Hurley. "It is more than a milestone. It is proof that vision and hard work matters. I could not be prouder of our student-athletes and coaches. They have competed with heart, toughness and class, and they have shown the country what Tarleton State is all about.
 
"I see it every time our stadiums and arenas come alive. I see it every Purple Thursday, when this campus wears its pride for all to see. I see it in the fans who travel, cheer, support and believe in our Texans no matter where they compete," he said. "Our athletics programs are carrying the Tarleton State name onto some of the biggest stages in the nation. And every time they do, they introduce more people to the strength, character and spirit of Texan Nation."
 
Tarleton State's first place finish in 2025-26 completes a steep climb from just three years ago, when the Texans finished dead-last in the standings. In its WAC history, Tarleton State finished tied-seventh in its inaugural year in 2020-21, 11th in 2021-22, 13th in 2022-23, fifth in 2023-24, third in 2024-25, and now first in 2025-26.
 
"The WAC Commissioner's Cup belongs to all of us here at Tarleton State – our student-athletes, our coaches, our staff, our student-body, and all of our fans and supporters," Tarleton State Vice President and Director of Athletics Steve Uryasz said. "Without your presence at our games and support throughout the year, none of this would have been possible.
 
"Now, we must not let this be a 'job well done,' but rather an important milestone in our persistent pursuit of bigger and better things," Uryasz continued. "Let's keep Tarleton State at the forefront of excellence – give to the Texan Club, our Light the Stack Fund and the AD Excellence Fund to keep helping us with the means to making Tarleton State champions in everything we do."
 
Fans can continue supporting Tarleton State Athletics in any or all of those three areas through Tarleton State's Commissioner's Cup celebration webpage.
 
The Texans finished with 95.2 points in the 2025-26 WAC Commissioner's Cup standings, followed by No. 2 Utah Valley at 76.8 points, No. 3 California Baptist at 75.5 points, No. 4 Abilene Christian at 62.3 points, No. 5 UT Arlington at 58.6 points, No. 6 Utah Tech at 45.6 points, and No. 7 Southern Utah at 41.4 points.
 
Tarleton State won eight conference titles this season, after entering the year with three in its NCAA Division I era. The Texans claimed a share of the football conference championship, then won the outright conference tournaments in women's indoor track and field, women's tennis, women's golf, men's golf, baseball and men's outdoor track and field, along with a baseball regular season title.
 
There were 294 institutions across all of NCAA Division I and all sports that conferences sponsor who won at least one conference championship, regular season and/or tournament. Tarleton State placed in the top-20 nationwide with its eight conference titles (tied-17th).
 
This fall, the Texans claimed a conference championship in football and took third in volleyball. Texan Football had its tied-most wins in program history (12), going 12-2 overall and 7-1 in UAC play. The Texans advanced to the FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals in just the team's second year of D1 postseason eligibility, becoming the first FCS team since 1993 (Troy) to make the quarterfinals in one of its first two seasons of playoff eligibility (8+ team format in FCS). The Texans are the first active FCS program to accomplish that feat since 1985 (Eastern Washington). The Texans were ranked as high as No. 2 in the national polls.
 
In the winter, the Texans were buoyed by women's track and field winning its first conference title, men's track and field's Lokesh Sathyanathan winning an individual NCAA championship, and women's basketball making the WAC Tournament semifinals. Women's track and field won the WAC Indoor Championship, the first conference title by the men or women in indoor or outdoor in the Texans' NCAA history. Victoria Cameron took bronze in the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60m after winning the event in the WAC Championship, where she broke the school record, the WAC Championship meet record and the all-time WAC record at 7.08 seconds. Five Texans were named All-Americans in NCAA Indoor season; Sathyanathan, Cameron, Prestina Ochonogor, Lauren Roy and JayBrion Jones. Sathyanathan became the first national champion in Tarleton State's NCAA Division I era, winning the long jump in the NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
Entering the spring, Tarleton State was third in the WAC Commissioner's Cup standings, but the Texans rattled off six conference titles to take the crown.
 
First, women's tennis won the WAC Tournament and earned an automatic NCAA Tournament berth. This marked Tarleton State Tennis' first conference tournament title, as the top-seeded Texans did not give up an opposing point in the WAC Tournament. Then Texan Women's Golf won its second consecutive WAC Championship and earned an automatic NCAA Regionals berth. Texans won the WAC Championship by 11 strokes. And Louise Depadt earned her second straight individual WAC Championship, becoming the fifth golfer in the WAC to win back-to-back individual titles. Next, Texan Men's Golf won the WAC Championship by a stroke and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. Texan Men's Outdoor Track and Field earned its first conference team championship, winning the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The men clinched the 2026 WAC title scoring 200 points, and the women took second. Texan Softball also had a strong season, taking second in the regular season and advancing to a winner-take-all WAC Tournament championship game. Texan Baseball won the outright WAC regular season championship and the WAC Tournament, the first time the Texans have won both titles in the same season. The Texans' regular season title is their first regular-season championship in their D1 era and their second conference regular season title in their NCAA era (2013, Lone Star Conference). The Texans finished with their third most wins in a single-season in their modern era, and their most wins since 1992, finishing 38-21. Tarleton State won its third ever NCAA Regional game in its fifth appearance, its first in the D1 era (also 2014 and 1998).
 
The Texans didn't just excel on their playing surfaces, but shined in the classroom, as well. This past spring, Tarleton State Athletics set a new term GPA record at 3.32, with six teams posting their highest GPA ever at the time (Texan Tennis at 3.88, Texan Beach Volleyball at 3.82, Texan Men's Golf at 3.75, Texan Volleyball at 3.75, Texan Baseball at 3.62 and Texan Men's Basketball at 3.13). Over 25 percent of Tarleton State's student-athletes posted a perfect 4.0 GPA, over 55 percent posted a 3.5-plus GPA, and 80 percent earned a 3.0-plus GPA.
 
2025-26 WAC Commissioner's Cup Final Standings (Adjusted to top 14 countable sports)
1. Tarleton State – 95.2 points
2. Utah Valley – 76.8 points
3. California Baptist – 75.5 points
4. Abilene Christian – 62.3 points
5. UT Arlington – 58.6 points
6. Utah Tech – 45.6 points
7. Southern Utah – 41.4 points