General | 12/9/2025 11:00:00 AM
SUNY Geneseo leads the 2025-26 Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup standings through the fall season, announced by the league on December 9. The Knights own a 0.8625 composite score and lead second place St. John Fisher by just over a tenth of a point following the fall season. The Empire 8 Commissioner's Cup standings will be updated following the winter season in March and finalized in late May of 2026 after the completion of the spring sports campaign.
The Knights lead all Empire 8 institutions with four league titles through the fall season, while St. John Fisher earned three league titles, and Hartwick College won the E8 women’s tennis championship. For the complete E8 Commissioner's Cup standings, please see below.
The Knights earned 69 of a possible 80 points from their winter sports teams, with E8 Championships in men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, and men’s soccer. In addition, the Knights were runners-up in women’s tennis.
St. John Fisher is currently in second overall with a percentage total of 0.738 on the strength of its first E8 women’s soccer championship, sixth women’s volleyball championship in the last seven seasons and the 2025 E8 women’s golf invitational crown. In addition, the Cardinals were second among E8 football institutions and field hockey semifinalists.
SUNY Brockport is third after the fall season, with a percentage total of 0.7345 led by runner-up finishes in men’s and women’s soccer and a semifinal appearance in women’s volleyball. Nazareth University is fourth with a score of .659, earning a championship game berth in field hockey, runner-up in women’s golf and semifinal berths in women’s soccer and women’s tennis
Hartwick College is currently fifth in the E8 standings right behind Nazareth with a composite score of 0.645 after its women’s tennis title, runner-up honors in women’s volleyball and semifinal berths in both field hockey and women’s soccer, while Houghton University rounded out the top half of the standings in sixth with a percentage total of 0.586. The Highlanders were second in women’s cross country and third in men’s cross country, while advancing to the postseason in four more sports. Utica is right behind Houghton with a percentage total of .579, having finished as the highest E8 full-time member in football, runner-up in men’s cross country and men’s soccer semifinalist.
Alfred University, Russell Sage College, Elmira College, SUNY Poly, and Keuka College round out the 2025-26 Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup standings after the fall season.
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 amount of possible points for each school based on conference-sponsored sports to determine their overall percentage.
2025-26 Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup Standings (After 2025 Fall Season)
| Institution |
Actual |
Possible |
Percentage |
| SUNY Geneseo |
69 |
80 |
0.8625 |
| St. John Fisher |
62.75 |
85 |
0.738235294 |
| SUNY Brockport |
59.5 |
81 |
0.734567901 |
| Nazareth |
52.75 |
80 |
0.659375 |
| Hartwick |
52.25 |
81 |
0.645061728 |
| Houghton |
44.5 |
76 |
0.585526316 |
| Utica |
49.25 |
85 |
0.579411765 |
| Alfred |
31.25 |
81 |
0.385802469 |
| Russell Sage |
25 |
67 |
0.373134328 |
| Elmira |
15.75 |
47 |
0.335106383 |
| SUNY Poly |
9 |
47 |
0.191489362 |
| Keuka |
10 |
66 |
0.151515152 |