The WCC Commissioner's Cup is awarded annually to the school that accumulates the most points in competition in WCC team sports. 8 points is awarded for winning a regular season championship, seven for second, etc.
http://wccsports.cstv.com/genrel/051809aac.html
This year's numbers:
USD 64
USF 62.5
Pepp. 60.5
LMU 58.5
UP 57.5
GU 56.5
SMC 47
SCU 40
I've always thought the commissioner's cup tended to reward schools that are "pretty good" in a lot of sports, but not necessarily excellent or champion caliber. That's certainly the case this year, the only team championship USD won was in volleyball.
The good news for GU: Gonzaga won more team championships (MBB, WBB, BB and WCrew) than any other school. Pepperdine had 3, Portland had 3, USF had 2 and USD, as mentioned 1. SMC, LMU and SCU finished out of the championship sweepstakes. Gonzaga also had a second place finish in men's soccer. GU finished in second place among WCC schools for mens sport, led by the points earned in basketball (8), baseball (8) and soccer (6.5)
What to be encouraged about
: (1) baseball--the first WCC championship, national rankings, a possible NCAA berth. After just a couple seasons, the Patterson/Washington Trust baseball facility is paying dividends in that GU has been able to recruit better caliber baseball players. Look for continued basesball success; (2) cross country/track and field--GU has a legendary coach and Spokane is one of the Meccas of distance running in the US. Pat is going to be able to recruit better runners to GU and the results should appear soon. There are some signs of progress and improvement in golf, particularly women's golf. Gonzaga now has the best soccer pitch in the conference and when the phases of soccer stadium construction are completed (lights, concession stand, separate soccer locker room) GU will have the best overall soccer facility in the conference--all of which will help recruiting.
Why we don't do better in the Commissioner's Cup? The answer is simple--GU is dominated by the California schools in the "country club" sports of golf and tennis, especially tennis. This year, Gonzaga's Tennis and golf teams finished 8th, 7th, 5th and 4th (4th of 5 in women's golf). GU is somewhat the victim of the weather in these sports. There are plans in existence for an indoor tennis/golf facility on property along the river near Maplewood Gardens and that facility would help because practice time for these spring sports is limited in Spokane. I suspect that the state of the economy has those plans on hold, however.
And then there's volleyball. Ouch. There have been some encouraging moments the past couple years (victories over ranked teams), but performance in conference play has been less than stellar. Here's hoping the new coach will turn things around.
But overall, having 4 championships, particularly championships in the marquee sports of mens and womens basketball and baseball, is significant. These are the sports that have the most fans. I'd be willing to bet that the athletic directors and fans at the other WCC schools would trade a WCC Commisioner's Cup for an NCAA berth in men's basketball in a minute.
OT: WCC Commissioner's Cup
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