Albany Leads Commissioner's Cup Standings After Fall Season

Albany Leads Commissioner's Cup Standings After Fall Season

BOSTON - After winning a pair of fall championships and three regular-season titles, as well as posting a pair of runner-up finishes, Albany leads the America East Commissioner’s Cup standings following the 2015-16 fall season. The Great Danes, the winners of the last three Commissioner's Cups, were followed by New Hampshire and Vermont, which combined to win three conference titles in the fall.

The Commissioner’s Cup annually recognizes the strongest athletic program in America East as determined by a scoring system which rewards a school for success both during the regular season and championship competition in the conference’s 18 sports. 

The fall season resulted in eight of America East's nine schools winning a conference championship, regular-season title, or finishing as runners up in at least one sport.

Albany, which sits in first place in the standings after the fall season for the first time, racked up 165 points this fall, 48 more than New Hampshire, which has 117. Vermont came in third with 102 points followed by UMBC in fourth with 88 points and Maine in fifth with 81 points. Stony Brook follows closely in sixth (80 points), followed by Binghamton (69), Hartford (62) and UMass Lowell (56).


2015-16 Fall Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner’s Cup Standings
Rank    Team                 Points
1.         Albany                 165
2.         New Hampshire    117
3.         Vermont              102
4.         UMBC                   88
5.         Maine                   81
6.         Stony Brook          80
7.         Binghamton          69
8.         Hartford               62
9.         UMass Lowell        56

School Highlights
Albany

  • Leads the Commissioner’s Cup standings following the fall season for the first time. 
  • Won fall titles in field hockey (fifth in eight years) and women’s soccer (first ever).
  • Regular-season champions in men's soccer (first since 2004), field hockey and volleyball.
  • Runners up in volleyball and women's cross country (best-ever finish).

New Hampshire

  • Has been second or better after the fall season each of the last four years. 
  • Captured the regular-season & tournament titles in volleyball for the third-straight year. 
  • Won its third-straight women's cross country championship.

Vermont

  • Jumped up five spots from this time a year ago. 
  • After tying for second in the regular season, won its first men's soccer title since 2007.
  • Tied for the third-most points in women's soccer and recorded its first-ever America East Championship win.

UMBC

  • Earned the third-most points in men's soccer, tying for second in the regular season and reaching the semifinals for the sixth time in seven seasons.
  • Tied for the fourth-most combined points in men's and women's cross country, placing fifth in both.

Maine

  • Improved four spots from this time a year ago.
  • Was co-regular-season champion (first time since 2005) and runners-up (first time since 2006) in field hockey.

Stony Brook

  • Runners-up in men’s cross country, its best finish since 2012.
  • Tied for the third-most points in volleyball.

Binghamton

  • Reached the men's soccer championship game for the first time since 2009. 
  • Placed third in men's cross country (third straight year placing third or better).

Hartford

  • Earned the most points in women's soccer, winning its second-consecutive regular season title and finishing as runners-up for the third time in four years. 

UMass Lowell

  • Captured its first-ever America East championship in any sport by winning the men's cross country title.

  
The scoring system for the Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner’s Cup is as follows: In sports where regular-season round robin competition is conducted, the first-place institution in the final standings receives four points times the total number of teams involved in conference play. The second-place institution receives four less points; third place receives eight less points, and so on. Additionally, the America East (tournament) champion receives two points times the total number of teams participating in the championship. The second-place institution receives two less points; third place receives four less points and so on down to the last-place institution which receives two points. 

In sports where regular-season round robin competition is not conducted (cross country, tennis, track & field, swimming & diving), the first-place institution at the America East championship receives two points times the total number of teams participating in the championship. The second-place institution receives two less points; third place gets four less points and so on down to the last place team which receives two points.