4 real: GCU scores 1st Commissioner's Cup 4-peat

Grand Canyon's athletic program is shining as much as the WAC Commissioner's Cup that will remain affixed to GCU for a fourth consecutive year.

The Lopes used a program-record 12 WAC championships to claim the first four-peat in the history of the WAC Commissioner's Cup, which signifies overall athletic superiority for the academic year.

Since becoming postseason eligible in 2017, GCU has won all six WAC Commissioner's Cups for fully completed seasons (the COVID-shortened 2019-20 race only included nine sports). No other program has claimed more than three WAC Commissioner's Cups.

"We are excited to have earned the WAC Commissioner's Cup once again," GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said. "We have won 13 championships this year while advancing in the NCAA tournament in multiple spots. Athletic success doesn't happen without our talented coaches, dedicated student-athletes, hard-working staff and the support of the GCU campus and community.

"It takes an entire University and the best fan base in the country to win championships, and we are very thankful."

2023 WAC Champions

The Lopes claimed regular-season and/or postseason championships in nine of the WAC's 20 sports to bolster its 2023-24 winning total of 159.9 points, which put GCU ahead by a record margin of 30.5 points over runner-up California Baptist. The Lopes set the previous best with a 21-point margin in 2021-22.

The overall WAC Commissioner's Cup standings reflects the top 14 sports for each conference member, which receives points based on each team's placing in the WAC. The men's and women's standings that included all sports also put GCU atop of each ledger. The Lopes women led runner-up CBU by 34.8 points while the GCU men outscored second-place CBU by 18.2 points.

Women's soccer wins the 2023 WAC Tournament with a 4-2 win over Seattle U

Women's soccer wins the 2023 WAC Tournament with a 4-2 win over Seattle U

GCU's success began in the fall, when the women's soccer team won its second WAC Tournament title and the women's volleyball team broke through for the program's first WAC Tournament championship.

The Lopes took the Commissioner's Cup lead after the winter, bolstered by their historic men's basketball season that included WAC regular-season and WAC Tournament championships before GCU beat No. 16 Saint Mary's for its first NCAA Division I tournament victory.

The Lopes also continued a dynasty with their sixth WAC women's indoor track and field title in the past eight years. Runner-up finishes for women's basketball and men's indoor track and field teams helped GCU claim a 14-point lead on CBU entering the spring.

WAC men's outdoor track and field championship

WAC men's outdoor track and field championship

The Lopes pulled away from the field with baseball, men's golf, softball, women's tennis and men's outdoor track and field winning WAC championships. Softball and women's tennis scored additional points for also winning the conference postseason tournament, and baseball added the program's first two NCAA D-I tournament wins against top-25 programs Arizona and Dallas Baptist.

Two more runner-up finishes came from GCU's men's tennis and women's outdoor track and field teams.

The WAC Commissioner's Cup does not reflect the success of the Lopes' men's volleyball team, which gave GCU 13 conference titles by capturing the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament title before securing its first NCAA tournament match victory to reach the Final Four.

2023-24 WAC Commissioner's Cup final standings
School	Points
1. GCU	159.9
2. California Baptist	129.4
3. Utah Valley	116.4
4. UT Arlington	113.1
5. Tarleton State	92.7
6. Seattle U	91
7. Abilene Christian	86.9
8. Southern Utah	78.2
9. Utah Tech	77.6
10. Stephen F. Austin	68.7
11. UT Rio Grande Valley	60.5

Grand Canyon University Athletics

2023-24 WAC Commissioner's Cup final standings

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