UC Santa Barbara Leads Big West Commissioner's Cup Race :: The NCAA men's soccer title and three additional Gaucho postseason appearances have given UCSB the advantage in the yearly conference competition.

The NCAA men's soccer title and three additional Gaucho postseason appearances have given UCSB the advantage in the yearly conference competition.

Dec. 11, 2006

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara took the early lead in the 2006-07 Big West Commissioner's Cup race after winning or sharing three of the five fall championships it was announced today. The Gauchos won the men's soccer regular championship and the women's cross country championship while sharing the regular season title in women's soccer.

UCSB also finished in second place in men's cross country and third place in women's volleyball. The Gauchos have tallied a 144.0-point average. Four Gaucho teams reached the NCAA postseason, including the men's soccer team, which won the NCAA Division I National Championship on Dec. 3.

Last year's Commissioner's Cup champion, Long Beach State, rests in second place in the standings with a 130.0-point average. The 49ers shared the women's soccer regular season title and placed second in women's volleyball and women's cross country.

Following Long Beach State in the standings and in third place is Cal Poly. Cal Poly is the only other Big West institution to take home conference titles during the fall. The Mustangs captured the women's volleyball crown and the men's cross country title and have tallied a 116.0-point average.

UC Irvine (86.0-point average) rests in fourth place followed by Cal State Fullerton (68.0), Cal State Northridge (62.0), UC Riverside (46.0) and Pacific (36.7).

The Big West Commissioner's Cup is presented at the end of the spring season to the institution with the top overall point average tallied from Big West Conference Championships. 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 Big West Conference Commissioner's Cup was started during the 1998-99 season. Pacific claimed the first two Big West Commissioner's Cups. UC Santa Barbara has won the most Commissioners' Cups, tallying five consecutive awards from 2000-2005. Long Beach State ended UC Santa Barbara's string last year when it won its first Commissioner's Cup.

2006-07 Big West Commissioner's Cup Standings


                      Championships  Total
   Institution        Competed       Points    Average
1. UC Santa Barbara     5              720      144.0
2. Long Beach State     4              520      130.0
3. Cal Poly             5              580      116.0
4. UC Irvine            5              430       86.0
5. Cal State Fullerton  5              340       68.0
6. Cal State Northridge 5              310       62.0
7. UC Riverside         5              230       46.0
8. Pacific              3              110       36.7