BYU Leads Commissioner’s Cup Standings Midway Through Spring Season

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Midway through the 2018-19 West Coast Conference springs sports calendar, six-time defending champion Brigham Young University owns a solid lead in the race for the 2018-19 West Coast Conference Commissioner's Cup – awarded annually to the WCC institution garnering the most success during Conference play. 

BYU posted a runner-up finish in women’s golf paired with top-four finishes in men’s golf and men’s tennis. This followed a winter season with a pair of top-three showings in men’s and women’s basketball coupled with a sterling fall campaign which saw the Cougars win outright championships in men’s and women’s cross country, women’s soccer and volleyball. With three championships up for grabs, BYU owns a nine-point lead with 86.5 Cup points.

Pepperdine University is surging in the spring, bolstered by championships in men’s and women’s golf, women’s tennis and a runner-up showing in beach volleyball. The Waves have 77.5 points, good for a five-and-a-half-point lead over third-place Saint Mary’s College (72.0). Gonzaga University (71.0) sits just one point behind the Gaels in fourth place. 

BYU owns a narrow half-point lead in a competitive race for the men’s all-sports trophy with 33.5 points. Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are tied for second with 33.0 points, while San Francisco is in the running with 31.5 points with the race for the baseball regular season title remaining.

After winning two women’s championships to go along with a runner-up showing in the span of eight days, Pepperdine overcame a 25.5-point deficit to overtake BYU for top spot in the women's all-sports trophy race. With just the women’s rowing championship and softball regular season title remaining, the Waves own the lead with 54.5 points, followed by the Cougars with 53.0 points.

Overall, the Cougars compiled 86.5 Commissioner's Cup points midway through the spring championship season, which includes beach volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men's and women's soccer, men’s and women’s tennis and women's volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball. Pepperdine is second (77.5), Saint Mary’s is third (72.0), Gonzaga is fourth (71.0) and San Francisco is fifth (65.5). LMU (63.0) is sixth, followed by Santa Clara University (59.5) in seventh place. University of San Diego (53.5), University of Portland (45.5) and University of the Pacific (40.0) round out the standings. 

BYU captured its unprecedented sixth consecutive Commissioner’s Cup victory last season and won the women’s all-sport trophy for the sixth time. In the latest Learfield IMG College Director’s Cup Division I Winter Standings, released April 25, BYU ranks No. 15 overall, while Portland is No. 67.