HPU stays on top, Dixie State jumps to 2nd in chase for 2009-10 Commissioner’s Cup

Commissioner Cup Standings

PHOENIX, AZ – Hawai‘i Pacific University used a conference championship in women’s basketball and a third-place finish in men’s hoops to put a clamp around the top spot in the chase for the 2009-10 Pacific West Conference Commissioner’s Cup Championships.

The PacWest Media Office in Phoenix made the announcement on Monday, March 22.

The Sea Warrior lead seems almost insurmountable with HPU sitting atop both the baseball and softball standings and a strong possibility of finishing among the PacWest leaders at the men’s golf and women’s tennis tournaments.

Through seven conference championships, HPU has totaled 52.5 points that is yielding an average of 7.50 points per finish. As a program, the Sea Warrior athletic teams complete the year on average between second and third place.

HPU maintains a .30 lead in the standings over its nearest competitor - Dixie State – who is producing an average finish of 7.20. Hawai‘i Pacific led BYU-Hawaii – the current Commissioner Cup holders – by .30 through the five fall championships, but the Seasiders dropped to third after being hurdled by the Red Storm.

The only other change in the standings from the fall to the winter involves Grand Canyon who jumped over Hawai‘i Hilo and into fourth place. UHH is now fifth, followed by NDNU, Academy of Art, Dominican (CA) and Chaminade.

Unlike the first two years of competition, the chase for the 2009-10 Commissioner’s Cup is based upon average finish instead of point totals. The formula includes baseball for the first time.

This year schools total their points and then divide by the number of PacWest athletic programs they offer, giving an overall average finish for the school. With its 7.50 rate, Hawai‘i Pacific is averaging better than a third-place finish across its entire athletic program.

Hawai‘i Pacific, Hawai‘i Hilo, Grand Canyon and Academy of Art are sponsoring all 11 programs this year, while BYU-Hawaii, NDNU and Chaminade will compete in 10 (no baseball). Dixie State is sponsoring nine (no men’s & women’s cross country) and Dominican (CA) will field eight (no men’s & women’s cross country or baseball).

In the eight sports sponsored by all nine PacWest schools - men’s and women’s basketball, men’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and women’s tennis - the first-place team receives nine points, followed by the second-place team receiving eight and so forth in descending order.

In cross country, only seven schools sponsor the sport so points are awarded starting at nine for the champion and ending at three for the last-place team. Baseball features five programs with the winner earning nine points, followed by the runner-up claiming seven, third place taking five, and fourth and fifth earning three and one, respectively.

When teams are tied in the standings, the points awarded to those positions are added together then distributed evenly among the schools.

The current spring season will crown champions in baseball, softball, men’s golf and women’s tennis.

HPU is attempting to make it the third different champion in three years after Hawai‘i Hilo won the first Commissioner’s Cup in 2007-08 and BYU-Hawaii claimed the title last season, beating out the Sea Warriors by four points.