ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern leads the competition for the 2025-26 Kruse Award following the conclusion of the fall season. The award, named in honor of long-time Northwestern College (Wis.) and Martin Luther College athletic director Jerome Kruse, travels to the college with the most points accumulated by the place finishes of the college's athletic teams in the final standings of 18 conference sponsored sports.
The Eagles currently stand atop the Kruse Award standings with 43 points after earning conference regular season titles in four of the eight UMAC fall sports: women’s cross country, women's golf, women's soccer, and volleyball.
The University of Wisconsin Superior is second in the standings with 39 points. The Yellowjackets earned regular season UMAC championships in three UMAC fall sports: men's cross country, men’s golf, and men's soccer. UWS finished as the runner-up in women's golf and volleyball.
Bethany Lutheran and Crown are tied for third with 27 points each. The Vikings were the runner up in men's soccer and the Polars were the runner up in men's cross country.
Martin Luther is fifth with 21.5 points, University of Minnesota Morris is sixth with 19.5 points, and North Central completes the standings in seventh with nine points.
2025-26 KRUSE AWARD STANDINGS
FALL UPDATE
| School |
MXC |
WXC |
FB |
MS |
WS |
VB |
MG |
WG |
Total |
Ranking |
| Bethany Lutheran College |
3 |
1 |
N/A |
6 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
N/A |
27 |
T3 |
| Crown College |
6 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
27 |
T3 |
| Martin Luther College |
4 |
4 |
1.5 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
21.5 |
5th |
| North Central University |
1 |
N/A |
N/A |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
N/A |
9 |
7th |
| University of Minnesota Morris |
2 |
2 |
1.5 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
19.5 |
6th |
| University of Northwestern |
5 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
43 |
1st |
| University of Wisconsin-Superior |
7 |
3 |
N/A |
7 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
4 |
39 |
2nd |
The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of seven full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.
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