PEMBROKE — A successful season for the UNC Pembroke athletics department paid dividends on Wednesday morning when the Braves were announced as winners of the Conference Carolinas Joby Hawn Cup for the second consecutive season, while also being lauded with both the men’s and women’s sports Joby Hawn trophies as well.

The Black & Gold raked in the Hawn Cup trophy for men’s sports for the third-straight season by collecting 103.2% of its maximum possible points, and out-paced Belmont Abbey, who finished in second place, by 23%. In the race for the women’s sports trophy, the Braves earned 85.3% of its maximum possible points and stayed in front of Belmont Abbey by 8.7%. It is the first time in Conference Carolinas that a school has won all three Hawn Cup trophies in back-to-back seasons.

The Joby Hawn Cup is the annual all-sports award for Conference Carolinas. Hawn Cup points are awarded in each sport based on the order of regular-season finish and the number of participating teams in each sport. In addition, bonus points are awarded to the tournament champion (two bonus points) and runner-up finisher (one bonus point). The total points earned from all sports for each institution is divided by the total possible points (excluding bonus points) for each institution based on sports sponsorship for each participating sport.

Wednesday’s release marked the fifth time that UNCP has picked up the Hawn Cup, but marked the program’s first time staking claim at the Hawn Cup title in back-to-back seasons. The Braves also claimed the conference’s biggest athletic prize following the 1983-84, 1988-89, 1991-92, and 2022-23 athletic seasons. The 1991-92 campaign was the last for UNCP as a member of both the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the then-Carolinas Conference. The Braves rejoined the league prior to the start of the 2021-22 campaign.

The athletics department has now raked in 14 Conference Carolinas tournament titles since rejoining the league. The Black & Gold have also collected six Conference Carolinas East Division titles along with four regular season championships as well.

On the women’s side, both soccer and basketball took home Conference Carolinas East Division and Conference Carolinas Tournament titles earning trips to the NCAA Tournament. Swimming won the program’s first Conference Carolinas Tournament title in the winter, while volleyball claimed the Conference Carolinas East Division title and finished as runner-up in the Conference Carolinas Tournament.

On the men’s side, men’s basketball took home the Conference Carolinas East Division title and won the program’s first Conference Carolinas Tournament title. Cross Country won its second consecutive Conference Carolinas Tournament, while baseball took home the program’s first Conference Carolinas Tournament title earlier this month. Wrestling brought home the Conference Carolinas East Division title and took home second place in the Conference Carolinas Tournament.

The Joby Hawn Cup is named after H.C. “Joby” Hawn, who in 1962 became the first full-time Commissioner of what was then known as the Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIAC) and now Conference Carolinas. Following his retirement from the league in 1976, Conference Carolinas began awarding the Hawn Cup annually in his honor.