South Dakota State holds the lead after the winter season in The Summit League Commissioner’s Cup standings.
The Jackrabbits have 56.5 points and also lead the Dr. William Steinbrecher Men’s All-Sports Award Standings, while South Dakota is first in the Dr. Helen Smiley Women’s All-Sports Award Standings.
Overall, South Dakota is just two points behind the Jackrabbits with 54.5 points followed by IUPUI with 50.5 points and North Dakota State with 47.5 points.
Oral Roberts (39 points) is in fifth place with a 1.5-point lead over Denver with 37.5 points. Western Illinois is in seventh place with 27.5 points while Omaha (25.5 points) and Fort Wayne (19.5 points) rounded out the standings.
The Jackrabbits overtook the lead after top-three finishes in all six winter sports, including a first-place finish in men’s basketball. SDSU also placed first in women’s soccer this fall and has finished second the men’s cross country, women’s swimming & diving and women’s basketball. In all, the Jacks have finished in the top-three in nine of its 10 sponsored sports thus far.
South Dakota took sole possession of second place and regained the top spot in the women’s all-sports award standings after a first-place finish in women’s basketball and second-place finish in women’s indoor track & field. IUPUI rounds out the top-three slots in the Commissioner’s Cup race after a second-place showing in men’s swimming & diving and third-place finish in women’s basketball.
The Commissioner’s Cup is given annually to the member institution that collects the most combined points in relationship to placement in league-sponsored sports between its men’s and women’s athletic programs, while the All-Sports Awards are given to the institutions that accumulate the most points in men’s sports and women’s sports. The men’s award is named for former Valparaiso Director of Athletics Dr. William Steinbrecher, who guided the Crusaders from 1979-2004, while the women’s award is named for former Western Illinois Director of Athletics Dr. Helen Smiley, who headed WIU’s athletic program from 1994-2001.
Standings for the 2014-15 Commissioner’s Cup and the Dr. William Steinbrecher Men’s All-Sports and Dr. Helen Smiley Women’s All-Sports Awards can be found below. The breakdown of each institution’s points and finishes within each sport can be found on the attached PDF.
| 2014-15 WINTER STANDINGS | ||
| Commissioner’s Cup | ||
| Place | School | Points |
| 1. | South Dakota State | 56.5 |
| 2. | South Dakota | 54.5 |
| 3. | IUPUI | 50.5 |
| 4. | North Dakota State | 47.5 |
| 5. | Oral Roberts | 39.0 |
| 6. | Denver | 37.5 |
| 7. | Western Illinois | 27.5 |
| 8. | Omaha | 25.5 |
| 9. | Fort Wayne | 19.5 |
| Dr. William Steinbrecher Men’s All-Sports Award | ||
| Place | School | Points |
| 1. | South Dakota State | 21.5 |
| 2. | South Dakota | 18.5 |
| 3. | IUPUI | 17.5 |
| North Dakota State | 17.5 | |
| Oral Roberts | 17.5 | |
| 6. | Denver | 13.0 |
| 7. | Fort Wayne | 9.5 |
| 8. | Western Illinois | 8.5 |
| 9. | Omaha | 6.5 |
| Dr. Helen Smiley Women’s All-Sports Award | ||
| Place | School | Points |
| 1. | South Dakota | 36.0 |
| 2. | South Dakota State | 35.0 |
| 3. | IUPUI | 33.0 |
| 4. | North Dakota State | 30.0 |
| 5. | Denver | 24.5 |
| 6. | Oral Roberts | 21.5 |
| 7. | Omaha | 19.0 |
| Western Illinois | 19.0 | |
| 9. | Fort Wayne | 10.0 |
