HILTON HEAD, SC -- The University of North Georgia Nighthawks were named the winners of the Peach Belt Conference David R. Brunk Commissioner's Cup on Tuesday night at the league's annual dinner. 

North Georgia wins the award for the third time in program history.  The first came in the 2016-17 season and the second in 2023-24.

The Brunk Cup is presented annually to the best overall athletic department based on regular-season standings and select championships results from cross country, golf and track & field. Associate members are not reflected in regular season or championship point totals.  Flagler earned 83 points of a possible 105, a .79 rating.

The Nighthawks were competitive across the board in 2025-26, winning regular-season championships in men’s soccer, women’s soccer, baseball and softball. They also finished tied-second in women’s golf, third in women’s cross country, men’s basketball men’s tennis and women’s tennis and tied for third in women’s basketball.

Columbus State was second in the Cup standings with a .743 rating, just .046 behind North Georgia. The Cougars captured conference titles in women's basketball, men’s tennis and women’s tennis and were second in men’s basketball and men’s golf. The is CSU’s 21^st straight top three finish.

Flagler was third, with titles in men’s cross country, women’s cross country and women’s golf. The Saints also received the max score in women’s indoor track and field and men’s lacrosse.

The PBC David R. Brunk Commissioner's Cup is determined by calculating the number of points possible to each school, given the number of sports they participate in, divided by the number of points earned during the year.  Points are determined by placement in the final regular-season standings in each PBC championship sport except cross country, golf and track & field, which points are decided based off placement in their respective PBC Championship. 

The David R. Brunk Commissioner’s Cup was renamed after former Commissioner David R. Brunk following his retirement in 2025 following his 18-year term as the commissioner.