The Horizon League is giving basketball a bigger role in deciding its top all-sports award, a change that alters the formula Oakland University's Golden Grizzlies have dominated for more than a decade.
The conference announced Thursday, Sept. 3, that men's and women's basketball will account for 25 percent of each school's McCafferty Trophy score starting in 2026-27. Non-basketball sports will make up the remaining 75 percent. The league sponsors 19 sports across its membership.
The McCafferty Trophy goes to the school with the most total performance points each year. Separate men's and women's All-Sports Awards also will be handed out under the new system.
How the new scoring works
Each school can earn between zero and 10 points per sport on a 0-100 scale. In sports with a league regular season, 67 percent of the score comes from regular-season results and 33 percent from championship competition. Sports without a regular season are scored entirely on championship performance.
For men's sports, basketball and the three highest non-basketball point totals count in full. For women's sports, basketball and the four highest non-basketball totals count in full. Scores in additional sports still factor in but on a descending scale.
The league said the formula is meant to balance membership priorities and reward competitive excellence rather than broad sport sponsorship, while still counting scores from schools that sponsor more sports.
What it means for Oakland
Oakland ranks second in Horizon League history for McCafferty Trophies, one behind Butler's eight. The Golden Grizzlies have claimed seven since joining the conference in 2013, including three of the past four years through 2023-24, according to Oakland University.
The heavier basketball weighting adds a new variable. OU's men's basketball team won the 2024-25 Horizon League regular-season title, finishing 11-9 in conference play before falling to Robert Morris in overtime in the tournament semifinals.
Athletics Director Steve Waterfield, who was named DI-AAA Athletics Director of the Year in June 2026, has not publicly commented on the formula change. No Oakland official's response appears in the league's announcement or public records as of publication.
The new formula takes effect with the 2026-27 academic year. Oakland's cross country teams were picked third (men) and second (women) in the Horizon League's preseason polls released Tuesday, Sept. 1.
