Grand Canyon University climbed from fifth place in the Pacific West Conference Commissioner's Cup standings in the fall of 2009 to third place this year, upping its average finish from 5.70 to 6.40.
The final fall 2010 standings were released yesterday by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix.
BYU-Hawaii won three PacWest championships outright and shared a fourth, giving the Seasiders a slim lead over Hawai'i Pacific in the chase for the 2010-11 Commissioner's Cup.
BYU-Hawaii leads the Sea Warriors 7.4-7.3 through five fall championships -- men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball.
The Seasiders amassed 37.0 points after claiming league titles in men's and women's cross country and women's soccer, and sharing the women's volleyball championship with Hawai'i Hilo.
Reigning Commissioner's Cup champion HPU totaled 36.5 points through the fall, the exact number the Sea Warriors had last year. HPU finished second in women's cross country and men's soccer, took third in women's volleyball and men's cross country, and tied for second in women's soccer.
The race for the Commissioner's Cup is based upon average finish instead of total points, a change that occurred prior to the 2009-10 campaign. Each school totals its points and then divides it by the number of PacWest athletic programs it offers, giving an overall average finish for the school. Both BYU-Hawaii and Hawai'i Pacific are averaging better than a third-place finish across their entire athletic program.
GCU, Hawai'i Pacific, Hawai'i Hilo, Dixie State and Academy of Art sponsor all 11 PacWest programs, while Dominican, BYU-Hawaii, NDNU and Chaminade will compete in 10 (no baseball).
In the 10 sports sponsored by all nine PacWest schools -- men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, softball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball and women's tennis -- the first-place team receives nine points, followed by the second-place team receiving eight and so forth in descending order.
Baseball features five programs with the winner earning nine points, followed by the runner-up claiming seven, third place taking five, and fourth and fifth earning three and one, respectively.
When teams are tied in the standings, the points awarded to those positions are added together and then distributed evenly among the schools.
The winter season, which began on Nov. 12, will crown champions in men's and women's basketball, while women's tennis, men's golf, baseball and softball will battle for league titles in the spring.
The standings through the fall season are:
1. BYU-Hawaii (37.0 pts., 5 sports, 7.40 average)
2. Hawai'i Pacific (36.5, 5, 7.30)
3. GCU (32.0, 5, 6.40)
4. Dixie State (26.5, 5, 5.30)
5. Academy of Art (26.0, 5, 5.20)
6. Hawai'i Hilo (24.5, 5, 4.90)
7. Notre Dame de Namur (19.0, 5, 3.80)
8. Chaminade (12.0, 5, 2.40)
9. Dominican (11.0, 5, 2.20)
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