Murray State University Athletics
MSU Athletics Wins OVC Commissioner's Cup Award
6/15/2009 1:30:00 PM | General
Murray State Athletics claimed the inaugural Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner's Cup for the 2008-09 school year and announced by the league office.
MSU finished the year with 102 points, 11 more points than second place
“This is a tremendous accomplishment and I commend all of our coaches and student-athletes for their exceptional performance this year,” MSU Director of Athletics Allen Ward said.
“I believe the OVC Commissioners Cup signifies excellence throughout the entire program. It is a good barometer in measuring the overall success of any athletic department.”
The Racers turned in three first place OVC finishes during the school year with championships in women's soccer, women's basketball and women's golf.
MSU also had second place finishes in women's cross country, men's golf and baseball.
Nine different MSU teams placed third place or higher in OVC competition during the school year.
MSU had previously won eight Men's All-Sport Championships (with the last coming in 1990-91) and four Women's All-Sport Championships (with the last also coming in 1990-91). “I am extremely proud to win the first commissioners cup,” Ward added. “It's symbolic of the type of athletic program I envisioned. It's a distinction
Eastern Illinois finished third (88), followed by Morehead State (87), Jacksonville State (82), Southeast Missouri (81), Tennessee Tech (70.5), UT Martin (68.5), Austin Peay (65) and Tennessee State (55.5).
The award, previously divided into the Men's and Women's All-Sport Trophies, is a symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships. The award will be presented to university officials on May 29 at the league's annual Honors Luncheon in
The OVC Commissioner's Cup (which started in 1962-63 for men's sports and 1980-81 for women's sports) was previously divided into a Men's All-Sport Champion and a Women's All-Sport Champion. Points were awarded for each of the 18 sponsored sports and each school was required to count its totals from each sport in its grand total.
Under the new scoring system, schools are required to count point totals for four main sports (football, volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball) along with their next eight highest point totals from the remaining sports, regardless of gender.
The points system for scoring is as follows.
For all sports (except rifle, men's indoor and men's outdoor track ? which do not have six participating teams), the first place team earns 10 points, the second place team earns 9 points, etc.
For rifle, men's indoor and men's outdoor track and field, the first place team earns 10 points and each subsequent place earns points equal to two less than the team that placed one position higher.
