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Somerset, NJ -- The inaugural winner of the Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup back in 1987, it took LIU 34 years to reach the pinnacle once again.
The Sharks put the bite on NEC competition in 2020-21 on its way to winning the prestigious Cup, which rewards the all-around performance of an athletic program. LIU also collected a second Joan Martin Women’s Commissioner’s Cup in impressive fashion. Bryant extended its dynasty as the NEC Men’s Commissioner’s Cup champion to a seventh straight season.
LIU piled up a program record 195.42 points in the overall cup competition to end the two-year reign of Sacred Heart, which finished second with 189.35 points. The Sharks won the NEC women’s tennis and men’s golf crowns, qualified for the NEC Tournament in a league-best nine sports and posted top-four regular season finishes in the NEC standings and/or at NEC championships in 14 different sports.
With its runner-up finish, Sacred Heart has now finished first or second in the overall standings in each of the last six years, including Cup crowns in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2018-19. Bryant finished third with 166.97 points, marking the Bulldogs’ seventh straight top-three showing. Mount St. Mary’s took fourth place, compiling 163.81 points.
The Cup was not awarded during the 2019-20 academic year that was interrupted by the cancellation of the spring season.
Wagner was the biggest mover from the last time the Cup was awarded in 2018-19. With 141.31 points, the Seahawks moved up three spots to fifth place, marking the highest placing for the program since a fifth place showing in 1991-92.
Wagner was followed by CCSU (131.89) and Fairleigh Dickinson (126.79) in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Merrimack took eighth (104.87) with Saint Francis U (92.07) and St. Francis Brooklyn (62.77) rounding out the list.
LIU was a consistently strong performer across the board in its women’s sports, highlighted by winning the NEC women’s tennis championship for the fourth straight time. The Sharks recorded 123.13 points to beat out 2018-19 champion Sacred Heart (113.04) by over 10 points. LIU last won this award back in 2005-06. SHU’s 11 all-time Joan Martin Commissioner’s Cups are six more than any other school has won.
“Our entire LIU athletic department is more than honored and appreciative to win the NEC Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup and Joan Martin Women’s Commissioner’s Cup for the 2020-21 year,” said LIU Director of Athletics Dr. William E. Martinov, Jr. "It’s a true testament to the hard work, commitment to excellence, and the focus on health and safety during this unique time by all of our coaches, support staff, administration and, more importantly, our student-athletes. Equally important is to understand the competitive strength of our conference, the challenges that our conference membership faced this past year, and then taking the time to recognize this accomplishment. We accept this award as an entire athletic department because the overall success was a result of everyone working together this past year. We’re truly honored.”
Bryant became the second school in NEC history to win seven straight Men’s Commissioner’s Cups, joining Monmouth. The Bulldogs accumulated 87.79 points on the year to beat out Sacred Heart (76.31) by a comfortable margin. Bryant won the men’s lacrosse title as well as the inaugural men’s swimming and diving crown, though the sport did not meet the five-team minimum sponsorship threshold to count in the Cup standings. The Bulldogs also captured the baseball regular season championship.
“There are no words to express how proud I am of all of our student-athletes, coaches, support staff and administration for their unbelievable commitment, dedication and hard work this year,” said Bryant Director of Athletics Bill Smith. “I also want to thank President Gittell, the Board of Trustees and Cabinet for their support in allowing our student-athletes to play in this most challenging of years. This was a total team effort at Bryant and it is a true testament to all that we were able to not only compete this year, but win championships. To win seven straight men’s Commissioner’s Cups is no easy task and I applaud our student-athletes, coaches and support staff for this incredible accomplishment.”
“With all the sacrifices required and challenges presented this past year, it exemplifies the dedication and joint effort required of all the student-athletes, coaches and administrators at Long Island University and Bryant University to excel at such a high level,” said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. “LIU’s across the board success was incredibly impressive and a wonderful validation of the hard work that goes into building an elite all-around program. We also applaud Bryant for its sustained excellence in NEC men’s sports over a seven-year period. Winning Commissioner Cups only comes from a total team effort and the entire University community should take part in celebrating these accomplishments.”
Weare, who passed away in June, 2009, made a lasting impact in her three years as Commissioner of the NEC. In that time, she introduced a number of new programs aimed at upgrading the caliber of the league’s championship sports and enhancing the opportunities and experiences for the more than 4,000 student-athletes that compete in the conference. In addition to securing Bryant as an NEC full-time member, Weare was instrumental in the NEC gaining automatic access to the NCAA Division I Football Championship beginning in 2010, spearheading the conference’s Strategic Plan and implementing a new leaguewide sportsmanship policy. The Commissioner’s Cup was renamed in her honor in May, 2009.
Joan Martin played an integral part in Monmouth athletics for 33 years, serving as an Associate Athletics Director, Assistant Athletics Director, Senior Woman Administrator and Compliance Director, as well as a coach during her time in West Long Branch. Martin joined the Monmouth staff in as a coach in 1969 and continued until 1982, when she joined the athletic administration. Martin was the women’s basketball coach for 13 years, and mentored the softball (11 years) and field hockey (eight years) programs as well. Along with the NEC Women’s Commissioner Cup bearing her name, she was inducted into the Monmouth University Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
About the Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup
The NEC Commissioner’s Cup was instituted during the 1986-87 season with LIU Brooklyn winning the inaugural award. Sacred Heart leads all current NEC schools with eight Cups to its credit. Cup points are awarded in each NEC sponsored sport. For men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, football, women’s bowling, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and baseball, the final regular season standings are used to determine Cup points. Starting with the 2012-13 season, the Conference began awarding three bonus points to the NEC Tournament champion in those sports. In all other sports, points are awarded based on the finish at NEC Championship events.
About the Northeast Conference
Now in its 40th anniversary season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Boston (#9), Baltimore (#26), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.