This shouldn’t come as an enormous surprise to anyone, but for the second time in the Big West Commissioner’s Cup’s 11-year history, it’s coming to Long Beach, thanks to four conference titles, all won by women’s programs at the university.

The four conference titles (women’s volleyball, women’s tennis, women’s golf, and women’s soccer) were an enormous boost, and the school averaged 110 points over the 14 conference sports in which they compete. The Cup is presented to the institution with the best overall results in the conference’s 18 sponsored sports championships.

Cal Poly placed second in the Cup standings, the highest finish in the program’s history.  The Mustangs averaged the most points over the spring season which included a softball championship, a second place finish in women’s track and field and third place finishes in women’s tennis, baseball and men’s track and field.

UC Irvine placed third for the second consecutive year.  The Anteaters won titles in men’s soccer and baseball and also won the inaugural women’s water polo tournament title.

Despite four conference crowns, UC Santa Barbara placed fourth in the 2008-09 standings, its lowest finish in the history of the Cup.  UC Davis placed fifth, its highest finish and won a conference title in men’s golf.  UC Riverside climbed out of the cellar spot from a year ago to finish in the sixth spot this season.  The Highlanders claimed their first women’s cross country title in the fall to lead the way.

To determine the champion for the Commissioner’s Cup, total points are summed and divided by the number of championships in which each institution competes.  Each sport champion is also given a 20-point bonus.  The Commissioner’s Cup is then awarded to the school with the highest average.

From LBSU reports