May 30, 2007
IRVINE, Calif. - In the second-closest race in history, UC Santa Barbara regained the Big West Conference Commissioner's Cup, winning five conference championships and finishing second in six other sports during the 2006-07 conference season. The Gauchos, who averaged 112.5 points to edge Long Beach State by just one point in the final standings, earned the Commissioner's Cup for the sixth time in seven seasons.
The Cup is presented to the institution with the best overall results in the conference's 17 sponsored sports championships. This is the ninth year the Commissioner's Cup has been awarded.
The Gauchos rode the momentum of an impressive start to the fall sports season that culminated with a national championship for the men's soccer team -- UCSB's first national title since 1979. Overall, Santa Barbara won Big West titles in Women's Cross Country, Men's Soccer, Women's Swimming and Diving, and Men's Tennis, as well as a co-championship in Women's Soccer. The Gauchos also came in second place in six other sports and finished in third place or better in 12 of the 16 sports in which they competed.
"I am very proud of and happy for our coaches and athletes," said UCSB Athletics Director Gary Cunningham. "The Commissioner's Cup represents a great deal of hard work on their part and they have earned it. Six Commissioner's Cups in seven years is quite an achievement for this department."
Long Beach State, which ended UCSB's five-year reign as Commissioner's Cup champion last season, missed repeating as Cup winners by the narrowest of margins with a 111.5-point average. Only Pacific's win by three-tenths of a point in the inaugural cup of 1998-99 was by a closer margin.
The 49ers won a team title in Men's Basketball and shared the Women's Soccer title with UC Santa Barbara. In addition, Long Beach State had second place finishes in five other sports and posted a pair of third place finishes.
UCSB and LBSU have finished one-two in the Cup standings in each of the last six seasons.
Cal Poly improved upon its fifth place finish from a year ago to place third in the Commissioner's Cup standings with 94.7 points. It ties the highest finish for the Cal Poly program (2002-03) in the history of the Cup. The Mustangs won titles in Men's Cross Country, Women's Volleyball and Softball. It was the university's first women's volleyball title since 1984 and its first-ever championship for softball.
To determine the champion for the Commissioner's Cup, total points are summed and divided by the number of championships in which each institution competes. Each sport champion is also given a 20-point bonus. The Commissioner's Cup is then awarded to the school with the highest average.
2006-07 Big West Commissioner's Cup Overall Standings
Championships Total Institution Competed Points Average 1. UC Santa Barbara 16 1800 112.5 2. Long Beach State 13 1450 111.5 3. Cal Poly 17 1610 94.7 4. UC Irvine 16 1470 91.9 5. Cal State Fullerton 12 900 75.0 6. Cal State Northridge 16 1150 71.9 7. UC Riverside 15 900 60.0 8. Pacific 12 620 51.7
Courtesy Big West Conference
