[FRND] Falcons use record point total to bring KCAC Commissioner's Cup back to Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. – Following a two-year hiatus, the Friends University Falcons have once again captured the KCAC Commissioner's Cup with a record 160 points. The Falcons bested Kansas Wesleyan University by nine points to win their fifth Commissioner's Cup in the past eight years.
"Falcon athletics have had an amazing year of success that began with the kick off of the newly renovated Garvey Athletic Center," said Dr. Amy Bragg Carey, Friends University President. "It's exciting to conclude the year with this wonderful award from the KCAC in recognition of our many athletic achievements."
The Falcons found themselves at the top of the standings throughout the 2021-22 campaign, coming in tied for the top spot following the fall season and then taking the lead for good at the conclusion of the winter sports year.
"We are excited and proud to win the Commissioners Cup this year," said Dr. Rob Ramseyer, Friends University Associate VP of Athletics. "We have talented and hardworking student-athletes, coaches, and support staff as well as a campus community that is dedicated to the holistic development of our students. Our environment at Friends not only focuses on winning, but also places a high emphasis on graduating, engaging with our community, exploring questions of faith, and character growth."
In the fall, the Falcons were boosted by runner-up finishes in men's and women's cross country along with second-place showings in men's and women's soccer.
The winter season produced KCAC championships in Women's Indoor Track & Field and Competitive Cheer for the Falcons along with a runner-up finish by Men's Indoor Track & Field and a fourth-place showing in the league from Women's Basketball.
The spring season then clinched the top spot for the Falcons, with Track & Field once again serving as a major boon to the Falcons' chances. Both the Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Falcons secured a second-place finish at the KCAC Championship meet.
Softball then came in third in the KCAC standings, while Baseball jumped up to a fourth-place result after not qualifying for the postseason tournament last year.
The Falcons were also bolstered by the addition of Men's Wrestling and the return of Men's Golf for the first time since 2015.
Presented by McCownGordon Construction, click HERE for the final 2021-22 KCAC Commissioner's Cup standings.
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 21 championships. Member institutions can earn points for their finish of each varsity team in those 21 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, men's wrestling, 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.