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.
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.
