By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information & Kyle Schwartz, OVC Media Relations
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Following the completion of the spring sport championships, the final 2022-23 Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner's Cup all-sport trophy standings have been released and Tennessee Tech has officially delivered its top finish ever since the current award was established in 2008-09; the Cup is a symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships.
SEMO won the title with a total point count of 102.0, which was 11.5 points ahead of second-place Tennessee Tech (90.5) and 13.0 points ahead of third-place Eastern Illinois (89). Little Rock finished fourth (86.5) and was followed by UT Martin (83.5), Tennessee State (63.5), Morehead State (61.5) and SIUE (61.5), Southern Indiana (57.0), and Lindenwood (46.5).
"I am very proud of each of our student-athletes and coaches for helping turn in our best finish to date in the OVC Commissioner's Cup standings," Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson expressed. "I challenged each and every one of our programs this summer and they responded with one of the more well-rounded years we've ever put together as a department.
"We obviously have to thank our coaches and student-athletes for this great accomplishment, as it starts and stops with them. We also have to recognize all areas of our department, making the experiences of our student-athletes as enjoyable and thorough as possible. Our facilities & events crew, athletic training staff, strength & conditioning coaches, academic staff, marketing, video, and sports information departments, the ticket office, and all other areas of support do so much to make this place run. This was a group effort from everyone involved and I can't wait to see us attack next season with even more ferocity as we aim to take home the top spot."
The 2022-23 season marks the 15th for the re-formatted Commissioner's Cup, which was previously known as the All-Sports Trophy. The award (which started in 1962-63 for men's sports and 1980-81 for women's sports) was previously divided into a Men's All-Sport Champion and a Women's All-Sport Champion. Points were awarded for each of the 19 sponsored sports and each school was required to count its totals from each sport in its grand total.
In a vote of the Director of Athletics, the points system was updated in 2022-23 and schools now count 13 total sports in the final standings. Among those 13, schools are required to count the point totals of three main sports (men's basketball, women's basketball, and volleyball) as well as the highest finishing men's and women's track & field sport (either cross country, indoor track & field or outdoor track & field). Schools that sponsor football are required to count it as one of its 13 sports.
Points are distributed based on the number of schools that sponsor the sport (e.g. if 10 schools sponsor a sport, the champion will earn 10 points, 9 points for second place, 8 points for third place, etc.). For 2022-23, football (which had seven teams this season) will receive a maximum of 10 points for first place as opposed to seven (in 2023-24 the OVC-Big South association will have 10 teams).
In addition, winners of OVC Tournaments (soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis, beach volleyball, softball, and baseball) get one additional bonus point.
The Golden Eagles' previous best finish in the chase for the OVC Commissioner's Cup came in 2016-17, placing fifth overall. The Tech record for points in a single academic year is 101.5, established during the 2016-17 campaign.
