NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State University won its ninth straight Talmadge Layman Hill Award, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's all-sports trophy, the league announced on Friday.
The Spartans tallied 82.8 points to win their 10th Talmadge Layman Hill Award overall. Bethune-Cookman was second with 68 points. The Spartans first won the award in 2001. Their current streak of nine straight men's all-sports awards is the second-longest in MEAC history, trailing only South Carolina State's 11 in a row from 1974-84.
Hampton (100.5 points) won its 12th straight Mary McLeod Bethune Women's All-Sports Award, with NSU (70 points) finishing sixth.
Each winning school also receives $20,000. Points are awarded in a descending order beginning with 14 points for championships or first-place finishes. Second-place teams get 12 points, third-place teams 11, and so on. Tied teams split the total points.
"Winning the MEAC All-Sports Award for the ninth consecutive year during my tenure is a tribute to the talent of the student-athletes and skill level of the coaches,” NSU Athletics Director Marty L. Miller said. “I am honored to have the opportunity to work with such a committed group of individuals to promote academic and athletic excellence at Norfolk State University.”
NSU enjoyed another stellar year in 2012-13, earning a first or second-place finish in six of its seven men's sports programs. The indoor track and field team won its eighth straight MEAC title in February, while the cross country and outdoor track and field teams both finished second at their respective conference championships.
The men's tennis team captured a share of the regular-season MEAC Southern Division title for the first time in program history, part of a three-way tie with Florida A&M and South Carolina State. The men's basketball team also won its first-ever MEAC regular-season title, recording the first unbeaten regular season in the conference since 1993-94.
The women's teams were led by the bowling team's third consecutive MEAC South regular-season championship and a second-place finish in the MEAC North by the softball team, which won a school Division I-era record 31 games and finished as tournament runner-up. The volleyball team notched its best-ever MEAC finish (9-3, tied for second place in the MEAC North) and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 1999.
