Cup Renamed In Honor Of Northeast Conference Commissioner Brenda Weare

For the second straight year, Sacred Heart is the recipient of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Commissioner’s Cup, newly renamed in honor of current NEC Commissioner Brenda Weare. Sacred Heart finished the 2008-09 athletic season as the Joan Martin Women’s Commissioner’s Cup champion for the third year in a row and also earned the Men’s Commissioner’s Cup award for the first time to complete the clean sweep. The awards were presented to C. Donald Cook, Sacred Heart Director of Athletics, at the league’s annual spring meetings in West Long Branch, NJ last week.

...

Sacred Heart shattered the conference record with 244.07 Cup points on the year, nearly 22 more than the former mark of 222.09 points set by UMBC in 2000-01. The Pioneers also established a new Women’s Cup record with 140.85 points, eclipsing the standard set by UMBC in 2001-02 with 131.17 points. Sacred Heart finished with 103.22 men’s points to edge Monmouth (96.66 points) and snap the Hawks’ seven-year run as the Men’s Cup winner.

Sacred Heart broke open a close race for the Cup with a memorable spring that featured NEC Tournament Championships in men’s golf, women’s lacrosse, softball and men’s tennis. The Pioneers also won the women’s basketball title over the winter.

“Winning the overall Northeast Conference Commissioner’s Cup is a special capstone achievement for Sacred Heart University,” commented Cook. “Winning in both the men’s and women’s categories just adds an extra measure of satisfaction to what was an immensely satisfying accomplishment a year ago when the University won its first overall Commissioner’s Cup. This year’s sweep of all three categories (men, women, overall), including setting a new NEC record for overall and women’s points, is the wonderful validation of hard work and dedication at every level of the University.”

Sacred Heart outdistanced second place Monmouth (199.55 points) by nearly 45 points in the standings. In its highest Cup finish since 1987-88, Long Island placed third with 171.62 points. Quinnipiac was fourth with 162.01 points, followed by Saint Francis (PA) in fifth with 161.57 points. Central Connecticut State ended the year in sixth place (158.45 points), with Robert Morris (157.25) in seventh, Mount St. Mary’s in eighth (150.30), Fairleigh Dickinson (134.26) in ninth, Wagner (119.94) in tenth and St. Francis (NY) (74.766) in eleventh.

“Winning the Commissioner’s Cup is a terrific way to culminate an outstanding year for Sacred Heart University,” said Weare. “To field such a successful broad-based athletic program is no easy feat and I congratulate the Sacred Heart student-athletes, coaches and administrators who made it happen.”

The Commissioner’s Cup was renamed in honor Weare, who is finishing her third year leading the Conference. In her short time as Commissioner, she has introduced a number of new programs aimed at upgrading the caliber of the league’s championship sports and enhancing the opportunities and experiences for the more than 4,000 student-athletes that compete in the conference. In addition to securing Bryant as the NEC’s 12th full-time member, Weare was instrumental in the NEC gaining automatic access to the NCAA Division I Football Championship beginning in 2010, spearheading the conference’s new strategic plan and implementing a new league-wide sportsmanship policy.

“The conference is fortunate to have found and landed Brenda as our Commissioner,” said Monmouth President Paul Gaffney, who also serves as the Chair of the NEC Presidents Council. “She has done wonders in the conference with automatic qualification, inspiring management and improved conference visibility and reputation.”

“Brenda Weare’s leadership of the Northeast Conference has displayed vision, passion and integrity providing for a dynamic framework for the administrators and student-athletes at each conference institution,” said Bob Krimmel, Director of Athletics at Saint Francis (PA) and Chair of the NEC Athletic Directors Committee. “The renaming of the Commissioner’s Cup, which is the symbol of athletic excellence in the Northeast Conference, reflects the impact Brenda Weare has made on the league as our Commissioner. As a conference family, we have been blessed to have Brenda leading us to new opportunities and in meeting the challenges that conferences face in today’s world of college athletics. Brenda truly represents the best of college athletics and the Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup will forever reflect the excellence she has inspired in all who are part of the Northeast Conference.”

The NEC Commissioner’s Cup was instituted during the 1986-87 season with Long Island winning the inaugural award. Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth lead all NEC schools with six Cups to their credit. Cup points are awarded in each NEC sponsored sport. For men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, football, women’s bowling, softball, field hockey, women’s lacrosse and baseball, the final regular season standings are used to determine Cup points. In all other sports, points are awarded based on the finish at NEC Championship events.

2008-09 Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup
Overall Standings

1. Sacred Heart 244.07
2. Monmouth 199.55
3. Long Island 171.62
4. Quinnipiac 162.01
5. Saint Francis (PA) 161.57
6. Central Connecticut State 158.45
7. Robert Morris 157.25
8. Mount St. Mary’s 150.30
9. Fairleigh Dickinson 134.26
10. Wagner 119.94
11. St. Francis (NY) 74.76

2008-09 NEC Commissioner’s Cup
Men’s Standings

1. Sacred Heart 103.22
2. Monmouth 96.66
3. Central Connecticut State 74.76
4. Mount St. Mary’s 71.35
5. Quinnipiac 67.79
6. Saint Francis (PA) 63.04
7. Long Island 60.36
8. Robert Morris 59.86
9. Fairleigh Dickinson 55.26
10. Wagner 51.42
11. St. Francis (NY) 41.22

2008-09 Joan Martin Commissioner’s Cup
Women’s Standings

1. Sacred Heart 140.85
2. Long Island 111.26
3. Monmouth 102.89
4. Saint Francis (PA) 98.53
5. Robert Morris 97.39
6. Quinnipiac 94.22
7. Central Connecticut State 83.69
8. Fairleigh Dickinson 79.00
9. Mount St. Mary’s 78.95
10. Wagner 68.52
11. St. Francis (NY) 33.54

NEC Commissioner’s Cup Champions

2008-09 Sacred Heart
2007-08 Sacred Heart
2006-07 Monmouth
2005-06 Monmouth
2004-05 Monmouth
2003-04 Monmouth
2002-03 UMBC
2001-02 UMBC
2000-01 UMBC
1999-00 UMBC
1998-99 UMBC
1997-98 Monmouth
1996-97 Mount St. Mary’s
1995-96 Mount St. Mary’s
1994-95 Mount St. Mary’s
1993-94 Fairleigh Dickinson
1992-93 Fairleigh Dickinson
1991-92 Fairleigh Dickinson
1990-91 Monmouth
1989-90 Fairleigh Dickinson
1988-89 Fairleigh Dickinson
1987-88 Fairleigh Dickinson
1986-87 Long Island

By Northeast Conference Media Relations