BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- The University of Charleston has claimed the inaugural Mountain East Conference Commissioner's Cup recognizing overall athletic excellence among its membership on an annual basis.

The standings are compiled utilizing an "all-sports rating." This rating is determined by a formula that awards points to a school for its regular season finish equal to the number of teams per sport sponsored by the MEC, and then divided by the number of sports offered by the institution. The final rating is a percentage of points acquired against the number of points available (average percentile finish in the standings of each sport sponsored by an institution).

Charleston finished atop the standings ahead of West Virginia Wesleyan and Wheeling Jesuit. The Golden Eagles finished fourth or better in the final conference standings in 12 of the 14 MEC championship sports that were considered in UC's "all-sports rating." 


"It is my honor to present the inaugural Mountain East Conference Commissioner's Cup to the University of Charleston," said MEC Commissioner Reid Amos. "The Mountain East has quickly become a very competitive conference. In the MEC's inaugural year 10 of our 12 institutions claimed a conference championship, which serves to highlight how great of a year the University of Charleston had to finish atop the Commissioner's Cup standings. I'd like to commend President Welch, Director of Athletics Bren Stevens, their staffs and student-athletes for their efforts during such a remarkable and historic year.
 
"The presentation of the Commissioner's Cup caps a fantastic year for the MEC with 18 teams earning NCAA berths and several teams having historic seasons in NCAA competition," Amos said. "We again congratulate UC for winning the inaugural Commissioner's Cup and are looking forward to another great year in the Mountain East."
 
"To have the best overall athletic record in the inaugural year of the Mountain East Conference is a remarkable achievement," said University of Charleston President Dr. Edwin H. Welch. "It speaks well of the dedication of our student-athletes and their coaches. We are proud of our fantastic student athletes, and to represent Charleston, the university and the city, so successfully."
 
"I am extremely proud of our coaching staff that works tirelessly to provide a great experience for our student-athletes, and our students who perform so well both in and out of the classroom," said University of Charleston Director of Athletics Dr. Bren Stevens. "I am also thankful to work with our administrative team who offer their support on a daily basis. In my opinion, the Mountain East Conference is extremely competitive as evidenced by the number of different institutions that advanced to NCAA postseason competition during this past year." 

	MEC Sports	Points	Annual Possible	All-Sports Rating
Charleston	14	106.5	142	0.750
West Virginia Wesleyan	16	105	157	0.669
Wheeling Jesuit	13	85.5	130	0.657
Shepherd	11	70	114	0.614
Notre Dame	14	84	141	0.596
West Liberty	15	85	150	0.567
Concord	16	86.5	157	0.550
Fairmont State	12	62.5	129	0.484
Urbana	12	56.5	128	0.441
West Virginia State	10	47.5	110	0.432
UVa-Wise	12	49	129	0.380
Glenville State	12	45	126	0.357
* Points are awarded based on the number of institutions that sponsor a sport. First place receives the number of points equal to the number of teams, last place receives one point. *Other than where tie is broken for MEC Conference Champion, ties are not broken and points are equally shared among teams that tie in the standings. * The 'All-Sports Rating' is the total number of points that an institution compiles divided by the number of sports offered.  *The rating is a percentage of points acquired vs. number of points available