High school athletic programs in Iowa are competing for more than just state championships this school year. They're also vying to win the Bank Iowa Traveling Challenge Cup, a new award that goes to the high school in each of the state's four classifications with the best combined athletic and academic performance of the year.

"A lot of high school associations have an all-sports award to identify the best athletic program in their state," says Troy Dannen, Executive Director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU). "But we wanted to go beyond that to include the academic component. This award is a good way to get the message across that the most successful program is not defined just by winning championships, but also by succeeding academically."

The Iowa High School Sports Network (IHSSN), which owns the media rights of the Iowa High School Athletic Association and IGHSAU (Iowa is the only state to have separate state associations for boys and girls), came up with the idea for the Cup and asked Bank Iowa to sponsor it in exchange for an advertising package. The bank is supplying a crystal award for each class that will be held by the winning athletic programs for one year, as well as smaller replicas for the schools to keep permanently. The schools will also receive $750 to put toward academic enhancement.

Points for athletics are awarded to teams that make postseason play, with the number of points increasing as teams go deeper into the tournament. Points are also awarded for the top six individual finishes at state meets. All teams that compile a 3.2 GPA, regardless of whether they make it to postseason play, are awarded the same number of points as a team that finishes second in a state tournament. The point totals are tracked on the IHSSN's Web site throughout the year.

"What we're most proud of is that the academic part of this cup weighs very, very heavily," says Ken Krogman, President of the IHSSN and the mastermind behind the idea. "It is conceivable that a school with no regional or state championship appearances can still win this thing."

For more information, go to the IHSSN Web site at: www.ihssn.com.