2013-13 Big West Commissioner's Cup Final Standings

Thanks to a scintillating spring season, Long Beach State narrowly edged Cal Poly for the 2013-14 Commissioner’s Cup, the fourth in a row for the 49er program.

LBSU picked up an average of 124.3 points over its 14 sports, outpacing the Mustangs’ 123.3 tallies over 15 sports. It was the closest margin of victory since the 2006-07 Cup race when UC Santa Barbara topped the 49ers by the same margin. The spring was the difference for Long Beach State as it picked up 142.5 points over its eight sports. Led by championships from women’s tennis, men’s track & field and softball, no LBSU spring sport finished lower than fourth in its respective field. In all, LBSU also added top four finishes in men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball and men’s basketball during the year.

Cal Poly’s second place showing wrapped up a campaign that saw the program record its highest point total in Cup history as well as matching its best finish. The Mustangs took home titles in men’s and women’s cross country, women’s soccer, men’s tennis and baseball. The program also had top three finishes in men’s soccer, women’s basketball, softball and men’s track & field.

UC Irvine came in third with a 112.0 average across its 15 sports, the first time the Anteater program has surpassed the 110-point barrier. UCI’s previous best scoring total came back in 2001-02 with 109.4 points in a fifth place showing. UC Irvine’s men’s soccer, men’s basketball and women’s water polo led the way with championships, while women’s soccer, women’s tennis, women’s track & field and baseball all recorded top three finishes.

Right behind the Anteaters were two more 100-point scoring programs in UC Davis (106.9) and UC Santa Barbara (100.4). The Aggies recorded titles in women’s track & field and women’s golf, while also putting up second place showings in women’s cross country and men’s track & field along the way. The Gauchos’ first place men’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams were the high finishers for the program, which also saw top three placing for their softball, men’s basketball and both cross country teams.

Sixth place belonged to Cal State Northridge with 89.1 points. The Matadors had first place women’s volleyball and women’s basketball clubs, while also adding in second place finishes in men’s soccer, women’s golf, women’s water polo and women’s track & field. Hawai’i wrapped up the Cup chase in seventh with 80.5 points, led by the women’s volleyball team’s championship. Cal State Fullerton’s (75.0) eighth place showing was spearheaded by its championship men’s golf team, while UC Riverside (60.7) completed the 2013-14 standings board. UCR had top three finishes for men’s soccer, men’s golf and women’s soccer.

The Big West Commissioner’s Cup, which started during the 1998-99 season, is awarded to the institution with the highest average point total following the 16 Conference sport seasons. Points are not awarded if the institution does not sponsor the sport or any other sport it may compete in.

In determining a champion, the following round robin sports have points awarded on the basis of the final regular season standings, including a 20-point bonus for the champion. These sports are baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball. In the sports of cross country, golf, men’s tennis, track & field and women’s water polo, the points are awarded based on finish at the Conference Championship. In the case of ties in all sports, points shall be awarded by combining points and dividing them equally among the tied teams.

A complete breakdown of the point system is available in the link above.