By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Following the conclusion of the Ohio Valley Conference winter seasons last week, the OVC Commissioner's Cup Standings have been officially updated and Tennessee Tech Athletics once again stands among the top programs in the league.
With solid performances from both men's and women's basketball, and a historic showing by the women's indoor track & field team, the Golden Eagles stay in the hunt for the Commissioner's Cup title, tying for fourth place with Eastern Illinois, among the league's 12 members, with a total of 58.5 points.
"I am incredibly proud of the continued success of our Tennessee Tech Athletics programs, particularly when it comes to competition against our peers in the Ohio Valley Conference," Director of Athletics Mark Wilson said. "Our current rank in the Commissioner's Cup standings is a credit to all of the incredibly hard work our coaching staffs and student-athletes have put in this year and we can't wait for the results of all our teams competing in the spring."
TTU ranks less than nine points behind in-state rival Belmont (67.25) while Murray State and Eastern Kentucky has flipped their respective positions as No. 1 and No. 2 in the standings. Murray State ranks first overall with 74.5 points and Eastern Kentucky follows with 73.5 points.
The biggest boost to Tech Athletics remaining in the top four in the league came from indoor track & field's program record finish at the OVC Championships in Charleston, Ill. The women performed at levels never before seen by a Golden Eagle squad, capturing a second-place finish and a monster 11 points for the department's total in the rankings.
The Golden Eagle men's basketball team contributed six points to Tech's total after tying for sixth place in the regular season standings and earning the No. 6 seed in the OVC Tournament. Tech's women's basketball squad added 5.5 points after tying for sixth place in the league's final regular season standings and returning to the OVC's postseason event.
2016-17 OVC Commissioner's Cup Standings
(current after winter sports)
1. Murray State 74.5
2. Eastern Kentucky 73.5
3. Belmont 67.25
4. Tennessee Tech 58.5
Eastern Illinois 58.5
6. UT Martin 57.5
7. SIUE 54.75
8. Morehead State 53.5
Southeast Missouri 53.5
10. Jacksonville State 52.5
11. Austin Peay 48.5
12. Tennessee State 45.75
