America East titles and NCAA Tournament appearances are becoming old news.
It’s time to win the cup.
Don’t get me wrong, winning conference championships is what it’s all about. But now in its fifth year as a Division I school, Binghamton University has a lot more at stake than individual team accolades.
The Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner’s Cup is the reward given annually to the school with the strongest overall athletic program in the America East Conference. Halfway through the 2005-06 academic year, Binghamton sits in second place with 121 points.
Points? What points?
The point totals are determined by a scoring system that rewards each team for its final regular-season placing and conference tournament finish. The system also takes into account how many schools participate in each sport.
In its first two seasons in the America East, BU finished ninth in the overall standings. The Bearcats improved to fourth in 2003-04 and finished third last year.
Thus far, the Bearcats received points from five fall sports: men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. Boston currently leads the way with 127 points.
The volleyball team earned 32 out of a possible 36 points by finishing second in its seven team conference en route to winning the championship. That total offset Boston’s 32 points for winning women’s field hockey. Binghamton doesn’t have a field hockey team while Boston doesn’t yield a volleyball squad.
Both soccer programs finished third during the regular season in the nine-team conferences. The men lost in the championship game while the women fell in the semifinals, earning a combined 73 out of 96 possible points.
Since cross country doesn’t have a round robin conference schedule like the other sports, only the tournament results counted toward the Cup standings. The women finished fourth in the nine-team meet while the men came in eighth place.
Without question, winning the Commissioner’s Cup would be the greatest single accomplishment for the BU athletic program since moving to the D-I level. But with 13 different teams competing in the spring, the Bearcats have a long way to go before bringing home the ultimate prize.
Binghamton Point Breakdown
Men’ Soccer: 38 (48)
Women’s Soccer: 35 (48)
Women’s Volleyball: 32 (36)
Women’s Cross Country: 12 (18)
Men’s Cross Country: 4 (18)
(Total possible points)
Cup Standings
Boston: 127
Binghamton: 121
Maine: 117
Albany: 99
UMBC: 94
Vermont: 87
New Hampshire: 85
Stony Brook: 78
Hartford: 30