General | 5/29/2024 9:59:28 AM
St. John Fisher University used a tremendous spring semester to maintain its year-long lead and win the 2023-24 Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup, announced by the league on Wednesday, May 29. The Cardinals finished with a 0.844 composite percentage to claim their fifth straight E8 Commissioner’s Cup title.
St. John Fisher and runner-up Nazareth University combined to win 13 league championships during the 2023-24 season. Overall, seven of the nine full-time Empire 8 member institutions won at least one league championship this season. For the complete E8 Commissioner's Cup standings, please see below.
The Cardinals recorded 51.25 of a possible 58 points in the spring (.884 percentage total) to maintain its lead in the league standings on the strength of E8 baseball, softball, men’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse championships and men’s volleyball titles. Overall, St. John Fisher claimed seven Empire 8 Championship titles in 2023-24, earning the women’s basketball titles during the winter season.
Nazareth enjoyed a strong 2023-24 season, recording six Empire 8 Championship titles to finish with a composite percentage of 0.713. The Golden Flyers women’s outdoor track and field team won its second straight E8 title in the spring to go along with runner-up finishes in men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s outdoor track and field and men’s volleyball. Nazareth claimed women’s swimming and diving and men’s and women’s indoor track and field championships during the winter season, in addition to team titles during the fall in women’s cross country and women’s soccer. The Golden Flyers led all Empire 8 institutions during the winter season by recording an 0.875 team percentage total (33.25 of a possible 38 team points).
Utica University finished third overall with a percentage total of 0.712 after earning the 2024 Empire 8 men’s outdoor track and field championship in addition to runner-up finishes in baseball, softball, men’s golf and women’s outdoor track and field in the spring. In addition, the Pioneers won the 2023-24 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Championship and competed in the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament for the second straight season.
Houghton University placed fourth overall in 2023-24 with a composite score of 0.541 on the strength of its third E8 men’s tennis title in the last four seasons and first men’s cross country championship in program history. Alfred University rounded out the top five with a percentage total of 0.534 after winning women’s tennis and women’s volleyball titles in the fall. Hartwick College placed sixth overall with a percentage total of 0.480. Hartwick won its second straight Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship in the fall.
Russell Sage College, Elmira College and Keuka College round out the final 2023-24 Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup standings. Elmira won the 2023 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer Championship, its first league title since women’s volleyball emerged victorious in 2000.
Commissioner’s Cup points are awarded based on each team's finish in the Empire 8 conference standings at the completion of the regular season and post-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). A team's regular season finish will be added to its post-season finish and divided by two for the final total for that sport.
Teams tied for a position in the regular season standings are ranked based on tiebreaker scenarios. The actual number of points earned is then divided by the number of possible points for each school based on conference-sponsored sports to determine their overall percentage.
Final 2023-24 Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup Standings
| Institution |
Actual |
Possible |
Percentage |
| St. John Fisher |
128.25 |
152 |
0.84375 |
| Nazareth |
109.75 |
154 |
0.71266234 |
| Utica |
101.75 |
143 |
0.71153846 |
| Houghton |
69.25 |
128 |
0.54101563 |
| Alfred |
74.25 |
139 |
0.53417266 |
| Hartwick |
61.5 |
128 |
0.48046875 |
| Russell Sage |
55.25 |
144 |
0.38368056 |
| Elmira |
29.75 |
79 |
0.37658228 |
| Keuka |
31.25 |
104 |
0.30048077 |
2023-24 Empire 8 Champions
Fall
Men’s Cross Country: Houghton
Women’s Cross Country: Nazareth
Field Hockey: Hartwick
Football: SUNY Cortland (Utica top full-member E8 finisher)
Men’s Soccer: Elmira
Women’s Soccer: Nazareth
Women’s Volleyball: Alfred
Women’s Tennis: Alfred
Winter
Men’s Basketball: Utica
Women’s Basketball: St. John Fisher
Men’s Swimming and Diving: Hartwick
Women’s Swimming and Diving: Nazareth
Men’s Indoor Track & Field: Nazareth
Women’s Indoor Track & Field: Nazareth
Spring
Baseball: St. John Fisher
Men’s Golf: St. John Fisher
Men’s Lacrosse: St. John Fisher
Women’s Lacrosse: St. John Fisher
Softball: St. John Fisher
Men’s Tennis: Houghton
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field: Utica
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field: Nazareth
Men’s Volleyball: St. John Fisher
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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