University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics won the 2014-15 Southern Conference Commissioner’s Cup, the league office announced Wednesday. The Commissioner’s Cup is awarded to the top men’s athletic program in the SoCon.
Chattanooga also finished second in the SoCon Germann Cup. The Germann Cup goes to the top overall women's program in the league.
This is just the second time in school history the Mocs take home the championship in men’s sports. UTC also won the honor in 2005, snapping Appalachian State’s 13-year winning streak. The Mocs were runners-up in 2006 and 2014.
“With our league being as competitive as it is, to win the Commissioner’s Cup and finish second in the Germann Cup in the same year is a tremendous accomplishment,” stated UTC Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics David Blackburn. “It is exciting to see our student-athletes honored for their hard work. We are achieving excellence in competition, in the classroom and in the community, and that is our Vision for UTC Athletics.”
The Southern Conference annually awards the Commissioner’s Cup and Germann Cup to the top men’s and women’s programs in the league based on a points system.
A new scoring system was in place for the 2014-15 season, modeled after the one used in determining the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. Scoring is now done on a percentage basis, with only the top seven sports for each school counting toward its season total.
The SoCon sponsors 11 men’s sports and nine women’s sports. The new scoring format was approved by the SoCon’s directors of athletics at the league’s annual fall meetings.
Each sport is worth 10 points, with each place in the standings given equal measure relative to how many schools sponsor that particular sport. For sports that determine a regular-season champion, the two-point bonus for winning the league tournament remains in place. Each school’s total for the year is divided by 70, the maximum number of points possible when counting seven sports, to find its percentage.
Aside from East Carolina and William & Mary tying for the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup in 1969-70, this year’s race is the closest ever. The Mocs accrued 51.58 points from their counting seven scores, good for a percentage of .7369. Mercer accumulated 51.57 points for a percentage of .7367, giving UTC the cup by a scant two ten-thousandths of a percent.
The Mocs were led by football’s outright SoCon title in the fall and wrestling’s regular season and tournament championships in the spring. Men’s basketball was second in the regular season while the men’s golf team placed third at the SoCon Tournament.
The outcome of the cup came down to the last day of the baseball tournament, as Samford fell to Mercer in the title game. UTC held the clubhouse lead since the conclusion of the men’s golf tournament.
The Commissioner’s Cup was first awarded in 1970. Only six member institutions have won the cup, with Appalachian State’s 34 leading the way. William & Mary (5), East Carolina (4), East Tennessee State (1) and Furman (1) have also won the Commissioner’s Cup.
On the women’s side, the Mocs were runners-up to Samford in the Germann Cup thanks to championships in softball and women's basketball and second place showings in golf and tennis. UTC also won the SoCon Tournament in softball and basketball.
The Germann Cup was first awarded in 1987 and is named after former SoCon commissioner Ken Germann, who passed away in 2005. Chattanooga claimed its only title in 2007-08.
“Over the last week, we have seen a school-record eight programs earn public recognition from the NCAA for their APR scores, Davis Tull become the first Moc to win SoCon Male Athlete of the Year and today we win our second Commissioner’s Cup and are second in the Germann Cup,” said Blackburn. “We also led the SoCon in attendance in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball and set a school-record with a 3.11 overall g.p.a. in the spring. I think our fans, coaches and support staff should all be commended for equipping our student-athletes for success in each of these areas.”