Somerset, NJ -- It’s safe to say that Sacred Heart is in the midst of a golden era of intercollegiate athletics. The Pioneers emerged as a Northeast Conference (NEC) power over the last decade, and in 2015-16, added to their growing athletic resume by winning the program’s sixth Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup. SHU also repeated as Joan Martin Women’s Commissioner Cup champion, while Bryant took home its third straight NEC Men’s Commissioner’s Cup.
Sacred Heart, which won the Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup five straight years from 2007-12, racked up 210.68 points over the course of the 2015-16 academic year to end Bryant’s two-year reign as Cup champion. The Bulldogs finished second with 196.48 points, followed by Saint Francis U in third place with 190.21 points. Sacred Heart won four NEC championships, including its second straight “Triple Crown” of women’s cross country, women’s indoor and women’s outdoor track and field. The Pioneers also captured the NEC women’s bowling title. SHU won NEC regular season championships in women’s basketball and women’s bowling, and finished in the top-three of the NEC regular season standings in five different round-robin sports (baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s bowling and football). The Pioneers have now landed in the top-three of the Cup standings in each of the last 11 years and are one shy of Monmouth’s league record of seven Cups.
Fairleigh Dickinson continued its steady ascent up the Cup standings with a fourth place finish, the best for the Knights since a fourth place showing back in the 1996-97 campaign. In the last four years, FDU (164.82 points) has gone from tenth to eight to sixth to fourth place in the standings. The Knights were followed closely by LIU Brooklyn (163.45) and Central Connecticut (163.04). Wagner finished seventh (142.88), with Robert Morris (130.66), Mount St. Mary’s (108.92) and St. Francis Brooklyn (80.58) rounding out the standings.
Sacred Heart’s nine Joan Martin Commissioner’s Cups extended its own conference record. The Pioneers won six straight Cups on the women’s side from 2006-12 prior to claiming the prize the last two years. With 123.99 points, the Pioneers won comfortably over Saint Francis U (108.62), Bryant (101.28) and LIU Brooklyn (100.80).
“Congratulations to our student-athletes, coaches and staff on earning the Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup for the sixth time in nine seasons, and to our women’s programs on earning a record ninth Joan Martin’s Commissioners Cup,” said SHU Executive Director of Athletics Bobby Valentine. “Our continued success on the playing fields is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of these young men and women, and I am humbled to be associated with them.”
Bryant used a big spring season to three-peat as men’s Cup champion with 95.20 points. The Bulldogs won NEC Tournament titles in men’s tennis and baseball, and collected NEC regular season championships in baseball and men’s lacrosse. Sacred Heart was the men’s runner-up with 86.69 points, followed by Saint Francis U with 81.59 points.
“We are tremendously proud of our student-athletes and coaches in winning the NEC Men’s Commissioner’s Cup for the third straight year,” said Bill Smith, Bryant Director of Athletics. “Our teams have enjoyed incredible success once again in 2015-16, and this recognition speaks volumes to the hard work, dedication and consistency this group displays every day.”
“I’m proud to present to the Sacred Heart student-athletes, coaches and administrators their sixth Brenda Weare Commissioner Cup and a record-setting ninth Joan Martin Women’s Commissioner Cup,” said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. “This high level of athletic success over an extended period of time is a testament to the Pioneers’ enduring dedication, commitment and teamwork. And congratulations to the Bryant University athletics family for their third consecutive Men’s Commissioner’s Cup, an impressive feat for the Bulldog men’s teams!”
Weare, who passed away in June, 2009, made a lasting impact in her three years as Commissioner of the NEC. In that time, she introduced a number of new programs aimed at upgrading the caliber of the league’s championship sports and enhancing the opportunities and experiences for the more than 4,000 student-athletes that compete in the conference. In addition to securing Bryant as an NEC full-time member, Weare was instrumental in the NEC gaining automatic access to the NCAA Division I Football Championship beginning in 2010, spearheading the conference’s Strategic Plan and implementing a new leaguewide sportsmanship policy. The Commissioner’s Cup was renamed in her honor in May, 2009.
Joan Martin played an integral part in Monmouth athletics for 33 years, serving as an Associate Athletics Director, Assistant Athletics Director, Senior Woman Administrator and Compliance Director, as well as a coach during her time in West Long Branch. Martin joined the Monmouth staff in as a coach in 1969 and continued until 1982, when she joined the athletic administration. Martin was the women’s basketball coach for 13 years, and mentored the softball (11 years) and field hockey (eight years) programs as well. Along with the NEC Women’s Commissioner Cup bearing her name, she was inducted into the Monmouth University Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
About the Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup
The NEC Commissioner’s Cup was instituted during the 1986-87 season with LIU Brooklyn winning the inaugural award. Fairleigh Dickinson leads all current NEC schools with six Cups to its credit. Cup points are awarded in each NEC sponsored sport. For men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, football, women’s bowling, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and baseball, the final regular season standings are used to determine Cup points. Starting with the 2012-13 season, the Conference began awarding three bonus points to the NEC Tournament champion in those sports. In all other sports, points are awarded based on the finish at NEC Championship events.
About the Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.
2015-16 Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup • Final Sport-By-Sport Standings
| Sport |
BRY |
CCSU |
FDU |
LIU
|
MSM |
RMU |
SHU
|
SFBK |
SFU |
WC |
| M. Cross Country |
10.86 |
14.00 |
4.57 |
---- |
7.71 |
---- |
12.43 |
6.14 |
9.29 |
3.00 |
| W. Cross Country |
11.56 |
12.78 |
9.11 |
5.44 |
3.00 |
6.67 |
14.00 |
4.22 |
10.33 |
7.89 |
| Women's Soccer |
11.25 |
7.13 |
17.00 |
4.38 |
5.75 |
12.63 |
3.00 |
---- |
9.88 |
8.50 |
| Men's Soccer |
6.14 |
7.71 |
3.00 |
17.00 |
---- |
10.86 |
4.57 |
9.29 |
12.43 |
---- |
| Women's Volleyball |
10.86 |
3.79 |
3.79 |
14.00 |
---- |
15.43 |
9.29 |
6.93 |
6.93 |
---- |
| Football |
8.50 |
8.50 |
---- |
---- |
---- |
4.83 |
8.50 |
---- |
12.17 |
3.00 |
| Women's Swimming |
10.86 |
14.00 |
---- |
7.71 |
6.14 |
---- |
4.57 |
3.00 |
9.29 |
12.43 |
| M. Indoor Track |
4.38 |
12.63 |
9.88 |
14.00 |
7.13 |
---- |
11.25 |
3.00 |
8.50 |
5.75 |
| W. Indoor Track |
4.22 |
11.56 |
7.89 |
12.78 |
10.33 |
9.11 |
14.00 |
3.00 |
6.67 |
5.44 |
| Men's Basketball |
4.22 |
3.00 |
14.56 |
7.28 |
9.11 |
5.44 |
11.56 |
11.56 |
7.28 |
14.00 |
| Women's Basketball |
12.78 |
9.11 |
7.89 |
6.06 |
6.06 |
13.95 |
14.00 |
4.22 |
10.95 |
3.00 |
| Women's Bowling |
---- |
---- |
8.50 |
8.50 |
---- |
---- |
15.90 |
5.20 |
12.90 |
---- |
| Women's Golf |
---- |
6.67 |
14.00 |
3.00 |
---- |
---- |
12.17 |
4.83 |
8.50 |
10.33 |
| Men's Tennis |
14.00 |
---- |
9.42 |
---- |
4.83 |
---- |
4.83 |
4.83 |
12.17 |
9.42 |
| Women's Tennis |
12.43 |
---- |
14.00 |
5.36 |
5.36 |
---- |
10.08 |
5.36 |
10.08 |
5.36 |
| Men's Golf |
12.63 |
7.13 |
5.07 |
5.07 |
---- |
9.88 |
11.25 |
3.00 |
8.50 |
14.00 |
| Women's Lacrosse |
13.22 |
6.14 |
---- |
3.79 |
7.71 |
10.86 |
9.29 |
---- |
3.79 |
16.22 |
| Men's Lacrosse |
13.09 |
---- |
---- |
---- |
6.67 |
9.42 |
3.00 |
---- |
---- |
4.83 |
| M.Outdoor Track |
4.38 |
14.00 |
8.50 |
12.63 |
9.88 |
---- |
7.13 |
3.00 |
11.25 |
5.75 |
| W.Outdoor Track |
4.22 |
7.89 |
11.56 |
12.78 |
9.11 |
10.33 |
14.00 |
3.00 |
6.67 |
5.44 |
| Softball |
9.88 |
8.50 |
5.75 |
17.00 |
7.13 |
11.25 |
3.69 |
---- |
12.63 |
3.69 |
| Baseball |
17.00 |
8.50 |
10.33 |
6.67 |
3.00 |
---- |
12.17 |
---- |
---- |
4.83 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total |
196.48 |
163.04 |
164.82 |
163.45 |
108.92 |
130.66 |
210.68 |
80.58 |
190.21 |
142.88 |
| Men |
95.20 |
75.47 |
65.33 |
62.65 |
48.33 |
40.43 |
86.69 |
40.82 |
81.59 |
64.58 |
| Women |
101.28 |
87.57 |
99.49 |
100.80 |
60.59 |
90.23 |
123.99 |
39.76 |
108.62 |
78.30 |
|
BRY |
CCSU |
FDU |
LIU
|
MSM |
RMU |
SHU
|
SFBK |
SFU |
WC |