Sam Houston State Retains Southland Commissioner’s Cup
Southland Conference
Commissioner's Cup Standings (PDF)
FRISCO, Texas – Sam Houston State won team championships in baseball, men’s golf and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field on its way to claiming its second consecutive Southland Conference Commissioner’s Cup, the league office announced Sunday.
Sam Houston State edged rival Stephen F. Austin by just one point for its record fifth Commissioner’s Cup, 176.5 to 175.5. The Bearkats previously won the Cup in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and with Cup wins the last two years, they have won five of the last 10. Sam Houston is one of two current Southland universities to win at least two Commissioner’s Cups, along with Stephen F. Austin, which has won twice.
In addition to its four team championships, Sam Houston got runner-up finishes from the softball and men’s indoor track & field teams. Four other teams finished third, including the men’s basketball and the outdoor track & field teams as well as football and volleyball, each of which tied for third. Six men’s teams and four women’s team had top-three finishes for the Bearkats, which finished among the top three in 10 of the league’s 17 sports.
The Sam Houston men had 85.5 points to claim the men’s all-sports trophy ahead of Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin, which tied for second place with 74 points each. The Bearkats previously won the men’s all-sports trophy in 2000 and 2007. The Sam Houston women totaled 91 points but finished third in the final standings for the women’s all-sports trophy a season after claiming its first trophy.
Stephen F. Austin claimed the women’s all-sports trophy on the strength of team championship in women’s soccer and a first-place tie in women’s basketball. They also were the runners up in both indoor and outdoor track & field and finished third in women’s cross country to give them 101.5 points. Central Arkansas was second with 96 points.
SFA was only a point behind Sam Houston in the Commissioner’s Cup standings thanks to 74 points from its men’s basketball team title, runner-up finishes by the men’s cross country and outdoor track & field teams and third-place finishes by men’s indoor track & field and a third-place tie by the men’s golf squad.
Lamar (158.5), Central Arkansas (152.5) and McNeese State (142.5), came in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (133) finished sixth, edging seventh-place Northwestern State (132.5) by the slimmest of margins for its highest finish in eight seasons in the conference. Southeastern Louisiana (126) finished in eighth place, followed by Abilene Christian (106.5), which finished ninth in its first season in the league. Oral Roberts (102) was 10th followed by Nicholls (94), UIW (85), Houston Baptist (84.5) and New Orleans (48) to round out this year’s standings.
The Commissioner’s Cup is awarded annually to the top overall athletics program in the Southland. Sam Houston State has won the Cup a record five times. In the 17-year history of the Commissioner’s Cup, Stephen F. Austin has two and Northwestern State has one.
The Southland Conference all-sports trophies are awarded annually for men’s and women’s competition based on a 10-point system for all conference sports. Point values are 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, pending place of finish. Regular-season standings are used for sports that have a conference tournament. The Commissioner’s Cup is awarded to the university compiling the highest combined total of men’s and women’s all-sports points.
The three trophies will be presented at the annual Southland Conference Honors Dinner Tuesday night at the Westin Stonebriar Resort in Frisco, Texas.
Final Commissioner’s Cup Standings
|
Pl. |
University |
Men |
Women |
Total |
|
1. |
Sam Houston State |
85.5 |
91.0 |
176.5 |
|
2. |
Stephen F. Austin |
74.0 |
101.5 |
175.5 |
|
3. |
Lamar |
73.5 |
85.0 |
158.5 |
|
4. |
Central Arkansas |
56.5 |
96.0 |
152.5 |
|
5. |
McNeese State |
64.5 |
78.0 |
142.5 |
|
6. |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
64.5 |
68.5 |
133.0 |
|
7. |
Northwestern State |
55.0 |
77.5 |
132.5 |
|
8. |
Southeastern La. |
74.0 |
52.0 |
126.0 |
|
9. |
Abilene Christian |
49.0 |
57.5 |
106.5 |
|
10. |
Oral Roberts |
43.5 |
58.5 |
102.0 |
|
11. |
Nicholls |
47.0 |
47.0 |
94.0 |
|
12. |
UIW |
43.0 |
42.0 |
85.0 |
|
13. |
Houston Baptist |
26.0 |
57.5 |
83.5 |
|
14. |
New Orleans |
30.0 |
18.0 |
48.0 |