WICHITA, Kan. (Final Standings and Season-by-Season Breakdown) — The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Association’s Commissioner’s Cup has found a home in Salina. Kansas Wesleyan has claimed the Commissioner’s Cup for a second consecutive year as announced by the KCAC office on Monday.

The KCAC Commissioner’s Cup is awarded annually as a symbol of excellence in athletics representing 20 championships. Member institutions can earn points for their finish of each varsity team in those 20 officially recognized conference sports.

“I’m so proud of our student-athletes, our coaches, and our staff, coming together for a truly collective win,” Kansas Wesleyan Director of Athletics Steve Wilson said. “An honor like this takes everyone on campus rowing in the same direction. To have a season in a pandemic is a win. To have a successful season and a commissioner’s cup win like this is something to build on and to celebrate. I am extremely proud to be a Coyote and to get to work with these coaches and staff to serve our students.”

The Coyotes got out to a strong start in the fall season, taking the lead in the Commissioner’s Cup standings behind top-four finishes in men’s & women’s cross country, football, women’s soccer, and volleyball. In the winter, the Coyotes’ lead in the Commissioner’s Cup standings shrunk, but top-five finishes in women’s indoor track & field, competitive dance, and women basketball helped them hold on to the top spot. Conference titles in both men’s and women’s golf, along with a top-three finish in the baseball standings, guaranteed the Coyotes would win the Commissioner’s Cup for a second consecutive season.

“This kind of honor is an entire campus effort, even in a normal year. In a pandemic, having the community working in the same direction is the only way to have a season, let alone a winning season like we had,” Wilson said. “I can’t say enough about the cross-campus culture that we have right now at KWU. And to Salina, thank you for being a community that stuck with us all season. I am so proud of everyone involved in this accomplishment.”

Friends University finished second in the Commissioner’s Cup standings in 2020-21, and, like Kansas Wesleyan, had strong fall and spring seasons. Second-place finishes for the Friends men’s and women’s cross country teams, along with a fourth-place finish in men’s soccer, helped the Falcons get out to a strong start in the fall season, sitting in second place at that point behind KWU. Team titles in men’s and women’s track & field helped the Falcons make up some ground in the winter season, sitting only four points behind the Coyotes at that point. Friends had a strong spring season as well, with a second-place finish in men’s outdoor track & field, a third-place finish in women’s outdoor track & field, and a fourth-place finish in the softball standings, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Kansas Wesleyan.

Tabor College rounded out the top three of the Commissioner’s Cup standings. The Bluejays were in third place at the end of the fall season, behind top-four finishes in men’s and women’s cross country and volleyball. Finishing in the top six in men’s and women’s indoor track & field and men’s and women’s basketball helped Tabor make up ground in the winter, edging closer to Friends at the end of the winter season. Strong seasons in men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, as well as baseball, kept the Bluejays in the mix, but they ultimately ended up two points behind the second-place Falcons and five and a half points behind Kansas Wesleyan in the final standings.

“We thank our good friends with McCownGordon Construction for their continued support and offer congratulations to everyone associated with Kansas Wesleyan University athletics on this tremendous accomplishment during a year no one will soon forget.  This award has always been about collaboration and team effort which proved to be as important as ever during 2020-21, ” stated Dr. Scott Crawford, KCAC Commissioner.  “I offer a special note of acknowledgment to Steve Wilson, his coaches, and his athletic department staff for a job well done with their student-athletes and fans.”

2020-21 Final Standings (Season-by-Season Breakdown)

About McCownGordon
McCownGordon Construction is recognized as one of the region’s largest construction managers with offices in both Missouri and Kansas. Focused on core values of integrity, relationships and performance, McCownGordon is committed to building collaborative partnerships and specializing in construction management, design-build, sustainable construction and general contracting. With strong experience and expertise in a variety of market sectors, the company is 100 percent employee-owned and has been named one of the top 20  best midsize companies to work for in the nation by Fortune. More information about McCownGordon is available at www.mccowngordon.com. Follow McCownGordon on social media: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

About the Commissioner’s Cup
In an effort to further recognize the achievements of its student-athletes and member institutions the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference developed an award for the institution that performs the greatest over the fall, winter, and spring athletic seasons. The KCAC Commissioner’s Cup will be awarded annually as a symbol of excellence in athletics representing 20 championships. Member institutions can earn points for their finish of each varsity team in those 20 officially recognized conference sports.

Points are assigned based on regular-season finish for football, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s golf, softball, and men’s and women’s tennis. In competitive cheer, competitive dance, cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field, the conference championship meet results will determine point values. To be a conference sport there must be six member institutions competing in that sport at the varsity level.

Teams who finish in first place will be awarded a maximum number of points equivalent to the total number of teams competing in that respective sport. Point tallies will continue in reverse order until the last place team has been awarded its corresponding point value (i.e. if a sport only has seven teams, point values will be given from the maximum 7 to 1).  When two or more teams tie for final placing in the conference standings, each team will be awarded the average of the respective placing. For example, if three teams tied for second place in a sport with 11 teams, those three teams will be given the score of nine points because those three teams are occupying the second (10 points), third (9 points) and fourth (8 points) positions in the standings. The sum of those three positions (27 points) divided by the three teams yields an average score of nine points for each of the teams.

Previous Winners:
2019-20: Kansas Wesleyan University
2018-19: Friends University
2017-18: Friends University
2016-17: Tabor College
2015-16: Friends University
2014-15: Friends University
2013-14: Ottawa University
2012-13: Tabor College