Keene State College Secures Commissioner’s Cup For 12th Time

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Keene State College is the top athletic program in the Little East Conference for the 12th consecutive campaign, according to the 2011-12 Little East Commissioner’s Cup standings released by the conference office this afternoon. The Owls finished either first or second in the final regular season standings in 11 of their 17 conference sponsored sports (.647) to average 7.8974 points on a scale of eight.

The Commissioner’s Cup measures an institution's overall performance in the 19 sports sponsored by the Little East Conference. For sports in which the conference conducts in-season play (baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball), point totals are determined by the order of finish in the final regular season standings with bonus points awarded to the champion of the ensuing postseason conference championship tournament. For sports that do not conduct in-season play (cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and swimming and diving) points are awarded based on the order of finish in the conference championship meet.

Eastern Connecticut State University placed second in the Commissioner’s Cup standings for the sixth time in the past seven years with an average of 6.8718. The University of Southern Maine (6.3279) and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (6.0625) completed the top-half of the eight-team Little East standings.

Keene State is the lone institution in the conference circuit to showcase the Commissioner’s Cup trophy, winning the award in each of the 12 years it has been presented. The Owls posted the highest average in each of the three seasons among the eight conference members, including their top-seasonal average of 8.78 in the fall of 2011. Keene State raised four team championship trophies this past year, capturing the women’s cross country, field hockey, women’s swimming and diving, and women’s lacrosse titles. The Owls also sat atop the Little East regular season standings in field hockey and women’s soccer. Keene State represented the conference at four NCAA Championships, while sending participants to an additional seven national meets. Senior Paige Mills (Keene, N.H.) earned All-America honors at the 2011 NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championship, while junior Glenn Guilmette (Kensington, N.H.) received All-America recognition in the javelin event at the NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships.    

Eastern Connecticut finished second in the Commissioner’s Cup standings for the eighth time in the past 12 years. The Warriors recorded the second-highest seasonal average among the fall and spring sports. Eastern Connecticut raised a conference-best five team championship trophies. The Warriors captured the softball championship for the third consecutive campaign, while winning both the men’s and women’s soccer championship for the second time in the past three years. Eastern Connecticut claimed its first men’s basketball championship since 2000, while regaining the men’s lacrosse crown for the first time since 2009. The Warriors men’s basketball team  advanced to the NCAA Division III Sectional Semifinals, while the softball team was defeated in the NCAA Division III Mansfield, Conn. Regional Final. Senior Molly Rathbun (Hebron, Conn.) became the program’s first softball player to earn All-America honors in each of her four years on campus, while midfielder Mike Devine (Cheshire, Conn.) became the first sophomore on the men’s lacrosse team to receive All-America recognition. Eastern Connecticut raised one spot in the annual Commissioner’s Cup standings from the 2010-11 academic year.

The Huskies are making their sixth appearance in the past 12 years as the third place team in the annual Commissioner’s Cup standings. Southern Maine placed within the top-three in 10 of its 18 conference-sponsored sports (.556). The Huskies swept the women’s cross country and track and field championships, while placing second in the men’s field. Southern Maine also captured the regular season and tournament title in baseball, while finishing runner-up in women’s basketball. The Huskies represented the Little East as its automatic qualifier at the NCAA Division III Baseball Mansfield, Conn. Regional, while earning an at-large berth into the women’s basketball national field. Junior Molly Carl (York, Maine) was Southern Maine’s only multiple All-America recipient, receiving national honors at the NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championship and the NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship. The Huskies used a strong winter and spring sports seasons to hold off the Corsairs.

Rhode Island College (5.7043), Western Connecticut State University (5.1183), Plymouth State University (5.0455), and the University of Massachusetts Boston (4.6538) complete the eight-team Commissioner Cup standings, respectively.

Formed in 1986, the Little East serves as New England's premier athletic conference for public institutions in NCAA Division III.  Featuring 19 championship sports, the Little East sponsors quality competition in every season for our student athletes.  Our eight state colleges and universities dedicate themselves to an ongoing fulfillment of the Division III mission of passion, responsibility, sportsmanship, and citizenship.