Cal Poly Wins Dennis Farrell Big West Commissioner’s Cup
6/3/2024 11:15:00 AM | General
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Big West announced Monday that for the first time in school history, Cal Poly has won the Dennis Farrell Big West Commissioner's Cup, presented to the highest achieving athletic department in the Big West.
Cal Poly finished with the highest point total in the 24 years the Cup has been awarded, finishing with 149.4 points. Previously, no school had scored more than 147.5 points.
"Winning the Dennis Farrell Big West Commissioner's Cup is a testament to the outstanding individuals that work tirelessly throughout the year to represent Cal Poly with distinction," said Cal Poly Director of Athletics Don Oberhelman. "Thank you to our student-athletes, our coaches, and our staff. This is an amazing group of people, and this collective honor celebrates every single person in this department."
The Dennis Farrell Big West Commissioner's Cup is awarded annually to the Big West institution that has the highest degree of success in all men's and women's conference-sponsored sports during the academic year.
Points are distributed based on the order of finish during either the regular season (for the sports of baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, men's and women's volleyball) or in The Big West Championship (for the sports of beach volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's water polo). First awarded after the 1998-99 season, it is given to the institution with the highest average point total following the 19 conference-sponsored sport seasons.
The Big West Commissioner's Cup is named in honor of Dennis Farrell, who served as Big West Commissioner for 28 years before his retirement in 2020.
Cal Poly had an outstanding year across the board in its sports. Men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, and women's tennis all won Big West titles. Women's golf finished second in the Big West Championship. Women's soccer, volleyball, women's basketball, men's tennis, men's golf, baseball and softball all finished third in the Big West to help the program to victory.
In addition to the team success, Cal Poly saw 129 student-athletes earn All-Conference honors, win 14 individual major conference awards, have seven coaches win Big West Coach of the Year, win 16 combined individual and team titles, and break 21 school records. Academically, 82 student-athletes received conference All-Academic honors just through the fall and winter sports.
"This trophy represents the broad-based success our teams have achieved this season across all of our Division I sports programs," Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong said. "I am so proud of each and every person in these programs, and when you combine this competitive success with our 92 percent student-athlete graduation rate, our student-athletes and coaches really are honoring our vision of Athletic and Academic Excellence."
The Mustangs held off the winner of the last two years in Long Beach State, who finished second with 130.6 points with Hawai'i coming in third with 130 points.
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