FOREST, Va. --- A banner 2024-25 season of ODAC competition led to strong races and record setting totals in the ODAC Commissioner's Cup standings. Washington and Lee University collected a pair of prizes, while the University of Lynchburg returned to the top of one of the league's three-cup awards.
The Generals out-paced the field for the Dan Wooldridge Overall Champions Cup and the ODAC Women's Commissioner's Cup, earning the latter trophy with a record-setting rating. WLU has now won 23 straight and 29 overall Wooldridge Cups in addition to 22 consecutive and 25 overall Women's Cups. Lynchburg has now lifted seven Men's Cups with 2024-25 marking the Hornets second high-standing in men's sports in the last three years.
Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance is the proud sponsor for the Dan Wooldridge Overall Champions Cup and the ODAC Men and Women's Commissioner's Cups. Virginia Farm Bureau and the ODAC continue their partnership in focusing on the strength of the conference's student-athletes and maintaining the NCAA Division III philosophy of the complete student-athlete experience. Aside from supporting the ODAC Commissioners' Cups, Virginia Farm Bureau is the sponsor of the ODAC's sport-by-sport scholar-athlete awards.
As determined by the ODAC Board of Directors, points for the ODAC Commissioner's Cups are based on regular-season standings in team sports and championship team finishes in individual/meet sports. Each institution has a total number of possible points it can collect based on its sport sponsorship. The total number of points earned is then divided by the total number of possible points to determine the rating for each institution.
Washington and Lee earned 237.0 out of a possible 270.0 points towards a 0.878 rating to rank atop the Wooldridge Cup table over Lynchburg (215.0-of-273.0 - 0.788) and third place Randolph-Macon College (142.5-of-202.0 - 0.705). Roanoke College (178.0-of-268.0 - 0.664) finished fourth, while Bridgewater College (172.5-of-274.0 - 0.630) rounded out the top-five.
The Generals eclipsed their own all-time record in the Women's Cup standings from 2021-22 on their way to winning the 2024-25 women's trophy. WLU posted a .941 rating that season, but the Generals 130.5-of-137.0 points profile equates to a new record-rating of 0.953. That would top the chart of any of the conference's three cups. Washington and Lee earned maximum points in nine of the ODAC's 13-sponsored women's sports including cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, and volleyball. Lynchburg was second with a 0.755 rating, earning top marks in equestrian. Randolph-Macon slotted third at 0.750 with full points in basketball. Shenandoah University earned maximum points in field hockey, placing fifth at 0.643. Virginia Wesleyan University accounted for the remaining full allotment award, gathering all 12 points in softball towards the Marlins sixth-place rating of 0.642.
Lynchburg registered a 0.827 rating by garnering 102.5-of-124.0 points to top the men's cup chart. The Hornets earned full marks in six of the ODAC's 13 men's sports including baseball, cross country, golf, soccer, and indoor and outdoor track & field. Washington and Lee was second at 0.801 powered by full points in lacrosse, swimming, and tennis. Roanoke placed third at 0.720 with full points in wrestling. Randolph-Macon earned top marks in the remaining three men's sports of basketball, football, and volleyball -- the league's newest championship sport -- to finish fourth in the standings at 0.656.
Washington and Lee has now won 29 of the 31 Wooldridge Cups since the award was first recognized following the 1994-95 season. Lynchburg is the only school other than WLU to claim a Wooldridge Cup. The Generals have collected 25-of-33 women's cups and have captured 23-of-33 men's cups. Roanoke accounts for all eight of the remaining women's cup winners, while Lynchburg has claimed seven men's awards with Bridgewater College (2003-04), Hampden-Sydney College (1992-93), and Virginia Wesleyan University (then College)(2014-15) earning one each.
Over the course of the 2024-25 athletic year, five different schools earned at least a share of full points in at least one sport towards ODAC Commissioner's Cup standings. Those schools are listed below.
WOMEN'S SPORTS - Schools that earned at least a share of full points in at least one sport
- Lynchburg (1): Equestrian
- Randolph-Macon (1): Basketball
- Shenandoah (1): Field Hockey
- Virginia Wesleyan (1): Softball
- Washington and Lee (9): Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Volleyball
MEN'S SPORTS - Schools that earned at least a share of full points in at least one sport
- Lynchburg (6): Baseball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
- Randolph-Macon (3): Basketball, Football, Volleyball
- Roanoke (1): Wrestling
- Washington and Lee (3): Lacrosse, Swimming, Tennis