Peak Performance

Earning their second-in-a-row MAAC Commissioner’s Cup, 2024-25 was the Stags’ most successful all-around season.

One-quarter of a point. Three years ago, Fairfield Athletics came up just that shy of winning its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Commissioner’s Cup since 2011-12.

Put simply, that’s the equivalent of just one more league win in any of the Stags’ 17 MAAC sports.

But since that narrow setback, the response from the Stags has been resounding. In 2023-24, Fairfield won the MAAC Commissioner’s Cup—the symbol of overall competitive excellence among all conference institutions—for the first time in 12 years. And this past academic year, the Stags defended their crown in emphatic fashion, recording the most successful all-around season in the history of Fairfield Athletics.

“Our high level of consistent competitive success is a byproduct of our institutional belief that intercollegiate athletics is integral to the campus ethos and is an effective vehicle for achieving our strategic priorities,” said Vice President for Athletics Paul Schlickmann. “The Commissioner’s Cup is a team award indicative of a shared vision and commitment to comprehensive competitive excellence. We are grateful to all our campus partners who provide unwavering support throughout the year, and we are enormously proud of our entire staff for their tireless, positive approach in the development of an inspiring group of student-athletes.”

The numbers from 2024-25 speak for themselves. The Stags set new program records with eight conference championships and eight NCAA postseason appearances. Fairfield also won five MAAC Regular Season Championships and produced 10 individual MAAC Champions. In total, the Stags won more than 59 percent of their head-to-head contests, including better than 73 percent of MAAC games and 72 percent of home games.

The exceptional achievements of Stag athletes were not just measured in the win column. The nearly 500 student-athletes who represent our 20 intercollegiate programs posted an aggregate 3.57 department GPA while also making it a priority to engage in more than 4,000 hours of community service.

“The competitive accolades of our programs and student-athletes are commensurate with our mission to provide our student-athletes with a holistic, championship-caliber experience in every aspect of their Fairfield education,” said Schlickmann. “The depth and breadth of what our student-athletes accomplish on a daily, seasonal, and annual continuum is extraordinary.”

While the Commissioner’s Cup may have evaded North Benson Road for a dozen years, the rebuilding process has been defined by continued progress and consistent high-level success. The Stags are the only MAAC program to finish in the top three in the Cup standings for six consecutive years, and Fairfield has won the MAAC Commissioner’s Cup for Women’s Sports in each of the last four academic years. This level of sustained, comprehensive excellence is now the hallmark of Fairfield Athletics. While teams such as volleyball, women’s lacrosse, women’s basketball, and baseball have become perennial favorites in their respective sports, the Stags have established a contagious, competitive growth mindset across all programs. Among the newly graduated Class of 2025, senior student-athletes from 13 of Fairfield’s 20 varsity sports depart the University with their program having won either a conference tournament championship, regular season championship, or individual championship during their tenure.

“The all-around success is very important,” said Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Laura Field, who has won six MAAC Championships as leader of the Stags. “It’s a message to our student-athletes and our recruits that winning isn’t about one player or one coach or one program. It’s a part of the Fairfield culture to compete for championships, and it’s a priority of the department and the institution.”

With the 2025-26 academic year underway, two new Commissioner’s Cup trophies are on display in the Stags’ awards case as symbols of collective achievement that Fairfield has established itself as the premier program in the conference. “While it is important to celebrate the Commissioner’s Cup, it is a step in an ongoing journey,” said Schlickmann. “All 20 of our programs have adopted a mantra dedicated to continuous improvement. Our coaches and student athletes display a remarkable ability to focus on the task at hand—the next practice, the next game—all with a relentless dedication to personal and collective best and a desire to become the best versions of themselves at any given point in time. That’s the secret sauce that results in championship-caliber performances and outcomes.”

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