News Release

For the first time since 2017 – and for the second time in school history – the University of Rio Grande has earned the Michael J. Schell River States Conference Commissioner’s All-Sports Cup for the 2024-25 school year.

The RedStorm nearly posted a perfect score in the Cup standings, winning six conference championships to finish with 69 of a possible 70 points.

Oakland City University took second place in the Cup race with 65 points, while Shawnee State University was third at 63. Indiana University Kokomo and Midway University both earned 59 points, with Midway considered the fourth place finisher by virtue of two conference titles to IU Kokomo’s one.

Standings for the RSC Commissioner’s All-Sports Cup take into account each school’s finish in the RSC championship sports that it sponsors. The standings score the top seven sports from each school.

Points are awarded on a scale of 10 with 10 points for first place, nine for second and so on. For sports that have more than 10 schools participating, no points are earned for schools finishing below 10th place.

Standings are tabulated based on regular-season finish in the sports that have regular-season standings. For sports that do not have regular-season standings, the championship meet or tournament is used. For sports that have adopted point systems, the rank order of the points were used.

The top five finishers in the final standings are published as customary in the conference.

Rio Grande’s Cup victory was powered by their performance in track and field, as the RedStorm swept the four track titles in the conference. Rio Grande was also the regular season champion in both men’s soccer and softball – sports they would also go on to win the RSC Tournament in.

The RedStorm also finished second in four sports – men’s cross country, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and women’s basketball.

“We are incredibly proud to be the recipients of the River States Conference Michael Schell Commissioner’s Cup. This award reflects the hard work, dedication and excellence of all our athletic teams, coaches, and support staff,” said Rio Grande athletic director Jeff Lanham.

“It’s a true testament to the strength of our entire athletic department and the Rio Pride we take in representing the University of Rio Grande,” Lanham continued. “Congratulations to every one of our teams – you’ve made us all proud!”

Oakland City jumped to second in the 2024-25 standings, winning four conference championships. The Mighty Oaks claimed conference titles in men’s tennis, women’s tennis, baseball and women’s soccer, going on to win the tournament title in all four sports.

Oakland City was also second in men’s soccer and added a third place finish in both softball and men’s golf.

Shawnee State won two championships to finish in third place, finishing in first place in men’s cross country and women’s basketball.

Both of the remaining top five also had championships to their name, with Midway sweeping the golf championships and IU Kokomo winning the regular season title in women’s volleyball.

During the recently completed school year, the RSC Council of Presidents approved a recommendation to rename the RSC Commissioner’s Cup in honor of Commissioner Michael J. Schell – a perpetual honor that will annually recognize Schell for his contributions to the conference.

Schell passed away in May after a courageous battle with stomach cancer.