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Sacred Heart AD Don Cook NEC Commissioner Brenda Weare Sacred Heart SWA Alicia Alford

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Somerset, NJ -- For the second straight year, Sacred Heart is the recipient of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Commissioner’s Cup, newly renamed in honor of current NEC Commissioner Brenda Weare. Sacred Heart finished the 2008-09 athletic season as the Joan Martin Women’s Commissioner’s Cup champion for the third year in a row and also earned the Men’s Commissioner’s Cup award for the first time to complete the clean sweep. The awards were presented to C. Donald Cook, Sacred Heart Director of Athletics, at the league’s annual spring meetings in West Long Branch, NJ last week.

Sacred Heart shattered the conference record with 244.07 Cup points on the year, nearly 22 more than the former mark of 222.09 points set by UMBC in 2000-01. The Pioneers also established a new Women’s Cup record with 140.85 points, eclipsing the standard set by UMBC in 2001-02 with 131.17 points. Sacred Heart finished with 103.22 men’s points to edge Monmouth (96.66 points) and snap the Hawks’ seven-year run as the Men’s Cup winner.

Sacred Heart broke open a close race for the Cup with a memorable spring that featured NEC Tournament Championships in men’s golf, women’s lacrosse, softball and men’s tennis. The Pioneers also won the women’s basketball title over the winter.

“Winning the overall Northeast Conference Commissioner’s Cup is a special capstone achievement for Sacred Heart University,” commented Cook. “Winning in both the men’s and women’s categories just adds an extra measure of satisfaction to what was an immensely satisfying accomplishment a year ago when the University won its first overall Commissioner’s Cup. This year’s sweep of all three categories (men, women, overall), including setting a new NEC record for overall and women’s points, is the wonderful validation of hard work and dedication at every level of the University.”

Sacred Heart outdistanced second place Monmouth (199.55 points) by nearly 45 points in the standings. In its highest Cup finish since 1987-88, Long Island placed third with 171.62 points. Quinnipiac was fourth with 162.01 points, followed by Saint Francis (PA) in fifth with 161.57 points. Central Connecticut State ended the year in sixth place (158.45 points), with Robert Morris (157.25) in seventh, Mount St. Mary’s in eighth (150.30), Fairleigh Dickinson (134.26) in ninth, Wagner (119.94) in tenth and St. Francis (NY) (74.766) in eleventh.

“Winning the Commissioner’s Cup is a terrific way to culminate an outstanding year for Sacred Heart University,” said Weare. “To field such a successful broad-based athletic program is no easy feat and I congratulate the Sacred Heart student-athletes, coaches and administrators who made it happen.”

The Commissioner’s Cup was renamed in honor Weare, who is finishing her third year leading the Conference. In her short time as Commissioner, she has introduced a number of new programs aimed at upgrading the caliber of the league’s championship sports and enhancing the opportunities and experiences for the more than 4,000 student-athletes that compete in the conference. In addition to securing Bryant as the NEC’s 12th full-time member, Weare was instrumental in the NEC gaining automatic access to the NCAA Division I Football Championship beginning in 2010, spearheading the conference’s new strategic plan and implementing a new league-wide sportsmanship policy.

"I am deeply touched by this tremendous honor," said Weare following the announcement. "I truly was overwhelmed, not just by the recognition, but by everyone’s kind words that were shared. It was an amazing night for me and my family. This gesture on the part of the League was above and beyond what I ever expected for my work. I’m looking forward to continuing to do great things with this group of exceptional administrators for years to come."

“The conference is fortunate to have found and landed Brenda as our Commissioner,” said Monmouth President Paul Gaffney, who also serves as the Chair of the NEC Presidents Council. “She has done wonders in the conference with automatic qualification, inspiring management and improved conference visibility and reputation.”

“Brenda Weare’s leadership of the Northeast Conference has displayed vision, passion and integrity providing for a dynamic framework for the administrators and student-athletes at each conference institution,” said Bob Krimmel, Director of Athletics at Saint Francis (PA) and Chair of the NEC Athletic Directors Committee. “The renaming of the Commissioner’s Cup, which is the symbol of athletic excellence in the Northeast Conference, reflects the impact Brenda Weare has made on the league as our Commissioner. As a conference family, we have been blessed to have Brenda leading us to new opportunities and in meeting the challenges that conferences face in today’s world of college athletics. Brenda truly represents the best of college athletics and the Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup will forever reflect the excellence she has inspired in all who are part of the Northeast Conference.”

The NEC Commissioner’s Cup was instituted during the 1986-87 season with Long Island winning the inaugural award. Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth lead all NEC schools with six Cups to their credit. Cup points are awarded in each NEC sponsored sport. For men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, football, women's bowling, softball, field hockey, women’s lacrosse and baseball, the final regular season standings are used to determine Cup points. In all other sports, points are awarded based on the finish at NEC Championship events.

Now in its 28th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 11 institutions of higher learning located throughout five states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#24), and Hartford/New Haven (#28). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 13 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. Bryant will become the NEC’s 12th member upon completion of the NCAA Division I reclassification process in 2012. For more information on the NEC, visit www.northeastconference.org.

2008-09 Brenda Weare Commissioner's Cup Final Standings