After the completion of the 2015-16 Empire 8 winter season the conference office has released the current Commissioner’s Cup standings.
Ithaca College continues to lead the way with an .886 percentage, staying ahead of second place Stevens Institute of Technology (.876), a slim difference of .01. This marks the closest the standings have ever been between first and second following the winter season. The previous closest was a difference of .036 after the 2013-14 winter season.
The Bombers had a strong showing across the board during the winter season winning conference titles in men’s and women’s indoor track and field and women’s swimming and diving. Ithaca finished as the runner up in women’s basketball and third in men’s swimming and diving.
Stevens won the women’s basketball title for the first time since 2010-11 and won the men’s swimming title for the fourth straight year. The Ducks also took second in women’s swimming and women’s indoor track and field.
St. John Fisher College jumped up one spot to third place after a winter season that saw the Cardinals finish in the top three in each sport and improve their percentage from .529 to .618. Fisher was the runner-up in men’s basketball and men’s indoor track and field. The Cardinals were third in women’s basketball and women’s indoor track and field.
Nazareth ranks fourth with .578 percent as the Golden Flyers claimed a tournament appearance in men’s basketball and finished third and finished fourth in women’s basketball. The Golden Flyers also finished fourth in men’s and women’s swimming and diving and women’s indoor track and field.
Hartwick made the biggest jump in the standings moving up to fifth place with a .500 percent. The Hawks were tied for the final position after the fall season but came out strong in the winter. Hartwick won the men’s basketball title for the third time in the last six years. Hartwick took second in men’s swimming and diving and finished third in women’s swimming and diving.
Houghton (.441), Elmira (.373), Utica (.3727) and Alfred (.314) complete the standings and are separated by a narrow .127.
Commissioner's Cup points are awarded based on each team's finish in the Empire 8 standings at the completion of the season. Points are awarded on a scale dependent upon the number of schools that sponsor the sport (affiliate members are not calculated into the point scale). The conference championship team in each sport receives the highest amount of points, followed by the runner-up. Teams tied for a position are ranked based on tiebreaker scenarios. The actual amount of points earned is then divided by the amount of possible points for each school based on conference-sponsored sports to determine percentage.
| Standings thru Winter 2015-16 |
Percentage |
Actual Points |
Possible Points |
| Ithaca |
.886 |
101 |
114 |
| Stevens |
.876 |
92 |
105 |
| St. John Fisher |
.618 |
63 |
102 |
| Nazareth |
.578 |
63 |
109 |
| Hartwick |
.500 |
44 |
88 |
| Houghton |
.441 |
41 |
93 |
| Elmira |
.3734 |
31 |
83 |
| Utica |
.3727 |
41 |
110 |
| Alfred |
.314 |
32 |
102 |
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