For the first time in its WAC history, Idaho will have a shot at winning the Commissioner’s Cup, an annual award given to the WAC school that “performs the best in each of the conference’s 19 men’s and women’s championships.”
Idaho has taken the Commissioner’s Cup lead thanks to second-place finishes in women’s golf and men’s tennis and still awaits the results of men’s golf and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. All WAC schools are eligible to receive points from men’s golf, seven in women’s outdoor track and field, four in men’s outdoor track and field, seven in softball and six in baseball.
The Commissioner’s Cup considers all 19 WAC sports and utilizes a point system that gives schools points based on where they finish in regular season competition and postseason competition.
Athletic Director Rob Spear values the Commissioner’s Cup and said the recognition is essential for an athletic department.
“I think it is a good benchmark that measures the quality of your athletic programs,” Spear said. “We have never placed higher than fifth before. We are on track for our best finish ever.”
Because WAC schools compete in anywhere from 14 to 17 of the 19 sports, a school like San Jose State might be at a disadvantage because it misses out on points in five sports.
Although Fresno State competes in all but two sports, it trails Idaho by three points. Idaho should be optimistic about its current 59.25 points as it could come out on top of men’s and women’s track and field. The men claimed maximum points after winning the indoor track and field season while the women were able to claim six with a second-place finish.
Fresno State still has five opportunities to surpass Idaho and jump into first place as it competes in the five remaining sports. Still, Spear declared Idaho’s dominance at the moment.
“As of today you could say we have the best overall athletic program in the WAC,” he said.
Finishing at the top of the Commissioner’s Cup gives a school bragging rights until the next winner is announced but women’s tennis coach Daniel Pollock believes it can also serve as a recruiting tool.
“Anything will help you for recruiting so anything to show success it’s always helpful and I think it just shows that recruits are coming into a department that’s well renowned,” Pollock said.
As a coach of a smaller “Olympic” sport, Pollock also sees the cup standings as something that can help reflect a program’s success in sports that don’t receive as much attention in the media.
“I think it shows the overall success of all the sports programs, the well known sports programs and not-so well known sports programs,” Pollock said. “On average we’re doing really, really well as a department.”
Idaho’s current point total of 59.25 is a culmination of its success in 13 sports played thus far. It received the maximum amount of points in women’s cross-country and men’s indoor track and field as a result of the WAC titles it won at each.
Theo Lawson can be reached at [email protected]