ST. PAUL, Minn. - Wednesday morning, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference released the final standings for the 2024-25 Kruse Award following the conclusion of the academic year's sports calendar. Of the eight member institutions, the University of Northwestern finished in second place with 88.5 points, trailing only the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

The full UMAC press release can be accessed here.

The award, which is named after Jerome Kruse, a longtime athletic director at the former Northwestern College (Wis.) and Martin Luther College, is awarded to the full-member institution with the most points accumulated by the place finishes of the college's athletic teams in the final standings of 18 conference-sponsored sports.

In addition to fall conference championships in Football, Volleyball and Women's Golf, Northwestern added a conference title share in Women's Basketball. The Eagles also picked up second-place finishes in Men's Tennis, Women's Indoor Track & Field and Women's Tennis, as well as bronze medals in Baseball, Men's Basketball, Men's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Softball, Women's Soccer.

Since the inception of the Kruse Award (1996-97), Northwestern has won it seven times (1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2007-08, 2008-09).