PacWest Commissioner’s Cup chase winds down to battle between Hawai‘i Pacific and Dixie State

PHOENIX, AZ – With the championships of just two sports remaining to be settled, Hawai‘i Pacific and Dixie State will decide the winner of the 2009-10 Pacific West Conference Commissioner’s Cup on the diamond.

Officially through nine championships, Dixie State has taken over the lead in the chase for the Commissioner’s Cup with a 7.142 average. The Red Storm has totaled 50 points in seven sports, while the Sea Warriors have 63.5 points in nine athletic programs for a 7.055 average. BYU-Hawaii is third with a 7.000 on 63 points - also on nine sports.

Even though Dixie State has the official lead, the Sea Warriors actually control the outcome in terms of the top athletic program in the PacWest for 2009-10.

HPU, which clinched a share of the baseball title on April 17 at Grand Canyon, can claim the baseball crown outright with one victory in its last eight games, or if Grand Canyon and Dixie State fail to have one team sweep the other in their final series of the season.

If HPU claims the baseball title outright, then the Sea Warrior softball team would need to win three of four games vs. Chaminade this weekend to claim a share of the PacWest title and clinch the Commissioner’s Cup for the HPU athletic program.

But if HPU softball stumbles and Dixie State jumps into first place after this weekend, then the Red Storm athletic program would win the Commissioner’s Cup as long as baseball finished at least in second place.

HPU baseball can do no worse than share first place, while softball could finish first or second. Dixie State baseball could finish anywhere from tied for first to fourth, while softball is in a similar situation where it could finish as the PacWest Champion or in fourth place.

After the winter season, the Sea Warrior lead seemed almost insurmountable, especially given the start by softball and baseball; however, Dixie State used a surprising fourth-place finish in women’s tennis and a second-place finish in men’s golf to dramatically shift the Commissioner Cup landscape.

HPU women’s tennis placed second, but the men’s golf team wound up seventh, turning all eyes to the baseball and softball diamonds of the PacWest.

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.

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.

Whether HPU or Dixie State wins the Commissioner’s Cup, the 2009-10 campaign will produce its third different champion in three years after Hawai‘i Hilo won the first cup in 2007-08 and BYU-Hawaii claimed the title last season, beating out the Sea Warriors by four points.

Dixie State is attempting to become the first Mainland school to win the Commissioner’s Cup.