Coming off of a strong Spring season, Azusa Pacific zoomed to the top of the Pacific West Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings, capturing the title for the third straight time.
The Cougars tallied 12.54 points, using PacWest spring titles in men’s tennis, women’s track and field, and men’s track and field, along with second-place standings in women’s tennis and baseball, and a third-place showing in softball.
Combined with a women’s basketball title and runner-up finishes in men’s cross country, women’s cross country and men’s basketball, APU moved into the top spot in the final point tally.
It was Azusa Pacific’s third Commissioner’s Cup, after winning its first in 2018-19. They finished in second place for five straight years prior to that. They have won the last three (there were no Cups in 2020 or 2021 because of COVID-19 shortened schedules.).
PacWest first-place trophies were handed out to nearly every school in the conference. For just the second time, nine of the eleven schools in the league won at least one PacWest Championship (2022 was the other year).
The PacWest Commissioner’s Cup was established in 2007-08 to honor the athletic program with the best overall performance in that academic year. The competition is based upon average finish in PacWest sports that the conference offers. Each school’s points are totaled and then divided by the number of PacWest athletic programs it offers, giving an overall average finish for the school.
UH-Hilo, who won conference titles in women’s soccer and men’s golf, finished seventh with 7.13 points.
After 16 years as the Commissioner of the Pacific West Conference, Bob Hogue attended his final executive board meetings on Shelter Island this week, which concluded on Friday morning.
During Thursday night’s dinner with the executive board, Azusa Pacific President Dr. Adam Morris announced that the PacWest Commissioner’s Cup will be renamed to the Bob Hogue Commissioner’s Cup to honor Hogue’s leadership since 2007.
Growth in membership, sports, championships, and academics has marked Hogue’s 16 years as the PacWest Commissioner.
Only three of the current PacWest member institutions were not recruited to join the conference by Hogue. Along with the 13 member institutions he recruited, five sports were added along with eight new championships events and counting.
In sum, the total number of student-athletes who had increased opportunities to compete in the sports they love at the NCAA Division II level thanks to the hard work and dedication of Commissioner Hogue is incalculable.