Long Beach State won its second consecutive Commissioner’s Cup, the award given to the highest-performing athletic department in the Big West Conference.
Championships in Men’s Basketball, Softball, Women’s Tennis and Women’s Volleyball contributed greatly to a record-setting points average of 140 per sport. Those were supported by runner-up finishes in Men’s Golf, Men’s Track and Field, Women’s Cross Country and Women’s Soccer.
In the race for the Commissioner’s Cup, points are awarded based on teams’ placement in the final conference standings. Long Beach State participated in 14 eligible sports and acquired 1960 total points, good for the 140 average.
It was a historically good year for 49er sports, as 11 of the 14 teams finished in the top three of their respective standings. Seven teams advanced to NCAA tournaments, but only Women’s Soccer and Women’s Tennis avoided first-round elimination.
Individuals from the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams also competed in the NCAA tournament, as did Phillip Chian of the Men’s Golf team. Anias Dallara represented The Beach in the singles tournament for Women’s Tennis but failed to make it out of the first round.
Long Beach State also had success in sports not included in the Commissioner’s Cup race, most notably Women’s Sand Volleyball. The squad reached the finals of the NCAA Tournament in both team and individual play its inaugural year.
Finishing second in the Commissioner’s Cup standings was UC Davis, which had an average of 115.6. UC Santa Barbara placed third (115.3) and was followed by UC Irvine (100.0) and Cal Poly (98.) Rounding out the standings were Cal State Fullerton (81.4), Cal State Northridge (73.3), Pacific (66.4) and UC Riverside (58.7).
This was the second consecutive and fourth overall Commissioner’s Cup win for the 49ers. They also won in 2010-2011, 2008-2009 and 2005-2006.