Butler, Milwaukee tied for top spot in McCafferty Trophy standings through winter sports

INDIANAPOLIS - Through the completion of the winter sports season, Butler and Milwaukee are tied for the lead in the James J. McCafferty Trophy standings in the race for the Horizon League's 2009-10 all-sports championship.

The Bulldogs and Panthers each have totaled 46 points and have commanding leads over third-place Green Bay, which has 23 points. Cleveland State ranks fourth with 18.5 points, with Wright State in fifth (17 points) and Loyola in sixth (16.5).

Butler also leads the men's all-sports standings with 26 points. The Bulldogs earned the maximum seven points in basketball, cross country and soccer and picked up five points in indoor track and field. Milwaukee is second with 19 points, and Green Bay is third with nine.

Milwaukee tops the women's standings with 27 points, earning seven points in soccer and track, five points in volleyball and swimming, and three in cross country. Butler ranks second with 20 points, followed by Green Bay (14 points), Cleveland State (11) and Loyola (10.5).

Points will be awarded this spring in baseball, softball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's outdoor track and field.

Last year, Milwaukee claimed the McCafferty Trophy as the Horizon League's all-sports champion for the fifth time in the last nine years and fourth in the last six. UWM also took home the women's all-sports award for the fourth consecutive year, while UIC captured the men's all-sports award for the second time in three years.

The McCafferty Trophy is awarded annually by the Horizon League to a member institution compiling the greatest number of performance points, based on finishes in the League's 19 championship sports. For the sports of men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, softball and baseball, points are awarded based on combined regular-season (60 percent) and championship (40 percent) finishes. For all other sports, points are based on performance in the League championships. The award is named in honor of James J. McCafferty, who served as the conference's first commissioner from 1979-80.

The Horizon League's spring sport championships begin next week with men's and women's tennis at North Central High School in Indianapolis April 23-25. The women's golf championships are scheduled for April 24-25, followed by men's golf April 26-27. Both golf events will be held at Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington, Ky.