WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Penn College placed fourth in the North Eastern Athletic Conference Presidents' Cup, it was announced Friday. It is highest finish for the institution since joining the conference in 2014-15.
The Wildcats finished 14^th in 2014-15; 10^th in 2015-16; and sixth last season.

"I'm extremely proud of what our student-athletes and coaches accomplished this season," Penn College Director of Athletics John Vandevere said. "We've challenged them to improve every year and they've answered that challenge each year.

"The improvement this department has shown since our first season in the conference is very impressive and is a credit to all of our students and coaches and I'm excited to see how they raise the bar next year."

This is the fourth year that the NEAC has determined its Presidents' Cup winner by utilizing the core values of NCAA Division III. In addition to calculating athletics success, which was the only factor taken into consideration when awarding the conference's Presidents' Cup in the past, the NEAC now also takes into account academics, sportsmanship and community service. 

Each category of the Presidents' Cup produces individual cup winners with Lancaster Bible, Keuka College, Morrisville State College and Penn State Berks earning recognition throughout the week.  Each of the NEAC's 14 full-member institutions are given a ranking based on their results from each category. The total rankings from all four categories are added together with the lowest overall score determining the NEAC Presidents' Cup honoree. This model is the first of its kind across all NCAA Division III conferences.

Penn College placed seventh in the Faculty Athletics Representatives' Cup, which recognizes academic success among conference schools. The Wildcats had 58 scholar-athletes, which is 36% of their 161 student-athletes, and an average GPA of 3.03.

Penn College was 10^th in 2014-15; eighth in 2015-16; and 11^th last season.

The Wildcats finished second in the Senior Woman Administrator's Cup, which recognizes community service hours completed by conference institutions. Penn College topped the conference in total hours with 2,502, placed second in number of participants and SWA votes, and was fourth in total funds raised.

Penn College finished 13^th in 2014-15; fourth in 2015-16; and tied for second last year.

Penn College placed fifth in the Athletics Direct Report Cup, which ranks good sportsmanship among conference institutions.

The Wildcats finished ninth in 2014-15; 11^th in 2015-16; and seventh last season.

In the Athletics Director's Cup, which is determined annually by athletic success, Penn College finished sixth overall. The Wildcats placed fourth in men's sports – highlighted by playoff appearances from baseball and soccer, and top-3 finishes from golf and cross country. On the women's side, the Wildcats placed 13^th – highlighted by a runner-up finish by women's soccer and a second round playoff appearance by softball.

Penn College finished 10^th in 2014-15; 12^th in 2015-16; and eighth in 2016-17.