BYU-Hawaii owns slim lead over HPU in chase for 2010-11 Commissioner’s Cup

PHOENIX, AZ – BYU-Hawaii won three Pacific West Conference Championships outright and shared a fourth, giving the Seasiders a slim lead over Hawai‘i Pacific in the chase for the 2010-11 PacWest Commissioner’s Cup.

BYU-Hawaii leads the Sea Warrior athletic program 7.4-7.3 through the five fall championships – men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball.

The Seasiders amassed 37.0 points after claiming league titles in men’s and women’s cross country, as well as women’s soccer, and sharing the PacWest Volleyball Championship with Hawai‘i Hilo.

Reigning Commissioner Cup Champion HPU totaled 36.5 points through the fall – the exact same amount the Sea Warriors put together a year ago. HPU finished second in women’s cross country and men’s soccer, took third in volleyball and men’s cross country, and tied for second in women’s soccer.

The race for the Commissioner’s Cup is based upon average finish instead of point totals, a change that occurred prior to the 2009-10 campaign. Each school totals its points and then divides it by the number of PacWest athletic programs it offers, giving an overall average finish for the school. Both BYU-Hawaii and Hawai‘i Pacific are averaging better than a third-place finish across their entire athletic program.

The biggest jump from the fall of 2009 to this year resides with the Grand Canyon athletic program. The Antelopes climbed from fifth place to third place and upped their average .70 points from 5.70 to 6.40.

BYU-Hawaii had the second-greatest leap, improving its average finish from 7.00 to 7.40, while Chaminade made the third-best increase, improving .20 from 2.20 to 2.40.

Hawai‘i Pacific, Hawai‘i Hilo, Dixie State, Grand Canyon and Academy of Art sponsor all 11 PacWest programs, while Dominican (CA), BYU-Hawaii, NDNU and Chaminade will compete in 10 (no baseball).

In the 10 sports sponsored by all nine PacWest schools - men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, 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.

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 winter season, which began Nov. 12, will crown champions in men’s and women’s basketball, while women’s tennis, men’s golf, baseball and softball will battle for league titles in the spring.

In 2009-10, HPU became the third different winner in the three-year existence of the PacWest Commissioner’s Cup. Hawai‘i Hilo claimed the inaugural trophy in 2007-08 and BYU-Hawaii earned the title in 2008-09.