The South Atlantic Conference Announces 2016-17 Winter Echols Athletic Excellence Award Standings

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Wingate leads the 2016-17 South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award Standings after the conclusion of the 2016-17 SAC Winter Regular Season.  After winning a pair of Championships in the fall, the Bulldogs placed tied for second in women's hoops and earned a third-place finish in men's basketball to push their point total to 682 points.

Lincoln Memorial captured the 2016-17 women's basketball crown and finished tied for the top spot on the men's side to jump into second-place with 505 points.  The Queens men finished tied with LMU for No. 1 in men's basketball to move its total to No. 3 in the standings with 500.25 points.

At No. 4 in the standings is Catawba with 497.5 points and at No. 5 is Lenoir-Rhyne with 486.49 points.  Anderson comes in at No. 6 with 449.5 points, ahead of Carson-Newman, who has 406.66 points.  Newberry's 400 points is good for the No. 8 slot, while Tusculum lands at No. 9 with 388.24 points.

Mars Hill finished at No. 10 with 359.08 points and Coker (188.25 points) and Brevard (150 points) finished up the list

The Echols Athletic Excellence Award is presented annually to the member athletic department that earns the highest point total based on cumulative final standings in each of the Conference's 18 sports.  Regular season finish is used in the sports of men's and women's soccer, volleyball, football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's lacrosse, baseball and softball, while SAC Championship results are used for men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf and men's and women's outdoor track. 

Starting this season, the SAC moved to what it believes is a more equitable new points system.  In the new formula, the champion will always receive 100 points and last place will receive 10 points regardless of the number of schools that sponsor that championship sport.  The points earned for all other place finishes will vary based on the number of schools that sponsor that particular sport.  

2016-17 SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award Standings