Fairfield University wins 2008-09 MAAC Commissioner's Cup | Press Releases

Stags capture Women's Crown in addition to overall title

The banner year for Fairfield University athletics continued on Thursday afternoon when the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced that the Stags captured the 2008-09 Commissioner's Cup, the league's highest honor. In addition to the overall championship, Fairfield University also collected the women's crown from the conference.

The MAAC Commissioner's Cup is awarded annually as a symbol of overall excellence in athletics in the 24 championship athletic events conducted within the MAAC. Each institution is scored in all championships that it fields a varsity team. However, only the scores from the men's and women's basketball participation, plus the other top six men's and top six women's championships shall be used to determine an institution's total points.

"It is great to see Fairfield University capture the Commissioner's Cup after such a competitive year of athletics for the program," MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor said. "As a founding member of the MAAC, Fairfield has long set the standard of excellence for the league both on the fields of play and in the classroom. Director of Athletics Gene Doris, the administrators, coaches and student-athletes are to be commended for their success."

The Stags won the Commissioner's Cup for the third time, and for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign. Fairfield captured the women's title for the seventh time in the award's history, last winning the crown in 2001-02.

"We are very proud of the achievement by our student-athletes, especially in regard to the numerous MAAC championships and NCAA tournament bids," Doris said. "Winning the commissioner's cup further shows the continuation of our overall development as an athletic program."

Fairfield finished the overall race with a total of 128.50 points, 18 points ahead of runner-up Marist College. On the men's side, Loyola College captured the league crown with 53.50 points, just one point more than second-place Siena College. The Stags finished in the top spot in the women's cup race by compiling 79 points, 18 points ahead of Marist.

Four Fairfield University athletic teams won the MAAC championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2008-09, namely the men's soccer, women's soccer, women's lacrosse, and women's tennis teams. The volleyball, women's lacrosse, softball, and men's tennis squads earned the MAAC regular season title during the campaign.