INDIANAPOLIS — In its quest for a fourth-consecutive all-sports championship, Oakland University maintains a lead following winter competition.

After winning both the men's and women's swimming & diving championships in February, Oakland — as was the case following the conclusion of the fall athletics season — is in the driver's seat in the chase for the 2017-18 James J. McCafferty Trophy, which is awarded to the all-sports champion of the Horizon League.

Bolstered by its recent men's and women's swimming & diving titles, Oakland sits atop all three leaderboards — all-sports (44 points), men's (20), and women's (24).

Should the Golden Grizzlies hold on to their lead, they would be the first school to win four-straight McCafferty titles since Notre Dame won seven consecutive trophies from 1988-95.

Milwaukee lept in front of newcomer IUPUI to take possession of second place in the all-sports standings with 28 total points. IUPUI (26), Cleveland State (20.5), and Green Bay (20) sit in third, fourth, and fifth places, respectively.

Wright State (17.5) holds a narrow, 1.5-point lead over Youngstown State (16) for sixth place, while Northern Kentucky and UIC are knotted in a tie for eighth place with 12 points apiece. Detroit Mercy rounds out the Top 10 with two points.

Spurred by winning the men's and women's indoor track & field championships in February, Youngstown State jumped ahead of Northern Kentucky and UIC in the all-sports standings from the fall.

Wright State, the men's basketball champion, moved up two spots in the standings, while Green Bay, the women's basketball title winner, held steady in fifth place.

Trailing Oakland (20) in the men's standings is Green Bay (10), Milwaukee (9.5), Wright State (9.5), and UIC (9). Cleveland State (8), Northern Kentucky (8), IUPUI (7), Youngstown State (7), and Detroit Mercy (2) round out the men's standings.

On the women's side, IUPUI (19) trails Oakland for first place by just five points. Milwaukee (18.5) sits narrowly behind IUPUI in third place, while Cleveland State (12.5) and Green Bay (10) possess fourth and fifth place, respectively. Youngstown State (9), Wright State (8), Northern Kentucky (4), UIC (3), and Detroit Mercy (0) comprise the remainder of the women's standings.

ABOUT THE AWARD 
Named in honor of James J. McCafferty, who served as the conference’s first commissioner from 1979-80, the McCafferty Trophy is awarded annually by the Horizon League to a member institution compiling the greatest number of performance points, based on its finish 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.

Standings are updated after each championship season.
 
McCafferty Standings – Winter

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