Grand Canyon Claims Third WAC Commissioner’s Cup
Grand Canyon Claims Third WAC Commissioner’s Cup
DENVER – For the third year in school history, Grand Canyon has won the Western Athletic Conference Commissioner's Cup finishing with 77.5 points. The Lopes won 11 WAC championships during 2020-21, winning postseason titles in baseball, men's basketball, men's tennis, women's tennis, women's outdoor track & field and men's outdoor track & field. In addition, GCU claimed regular-season titles in men's soccer and women's tennis while also earning a share of the regular-season title in men's basketball, men's tennis and baseball.
The WAC awards its Commissioner's Cup to the school that performs the best in each of the conference's 17 men's and women's championships from this year. Points are awarded in order of finish in each sport with six points to the winner, five for second, four for third, three for fourth, two for fifth and one point to all teams that finish sixth or worse. Teams that do not qualify for a postseason tournament due to a smaller field receive postseason points equal to their regular season finish. Teams that are ineligible for the postseason receive zero postseason points but can still earn regular-season points. Ties are not broken but instead are averaged between the tied teams. Affiliates will be used as a placeholder in the standings or championship results but are not scored in the overall Commissioner's Cup standings. Any team that competes in a sport with regular season standings that earns an NCAA AQ from a WAC Championship is also awarded one additional point.
NM State finished in second place with 56 points. The Aggies won outright regular-season titles in volleyball and softball while claiming the title of WAC Co-Champions in men's tennis. NM State also captured postseason titles in both men's and women's golf.
Utah Valley came in just behind the Aggies with 53 points to place third in the standings. The Wolverines earned a share of the regular-season title in men's basketball and women's soccer in addition to landing the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in women's basketball. Utah Valley also collected the postseason title in volleyball and women's soccer.
California Baptist was fourth with 47.5 points, earning the men's cross country and women's cross country title. The Lancers also claimed the regular-season and postseason title in women's basketball to go along with a share of the regular-season title in baseball.
UT Rio Grande Valley finished fifth with 36 points. The Vaqueros' best finish came in men's soccer where they earned the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament. Seattle U was sixth with 33 points, earning a share of the regular-season title in women's soccer while winning the WAC Tournament in softball.
A pair of WAC newcomers in Dixie State and Tarleton finished in a tie for seventh with 18.5 points each despite both the Trailblazers and Texans not being eligible for a number of WAC championships due to NCAA rules during their Division I transition periods.
Chicago State rounded out the standings with 10.5 points to claim ninth.
Complete 2020-21 Commissioner's Cup Standings