ASU Men, Chattanooga Women Win SoCon All-Sports Cups

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. ? Appalachian State’s men and Chattanooga’s women have won the Southern Conference’s Commissioner’s Cup and the Germann Cup, respectively, following the completion of the 2007-08 athletics season.

Appalachian State claimed the Commissioner’s Cup title for the third consecutive season and the 28th time overall in the past 31 years. The Mountaineers claimed regular season championships in four of the 10 SoCon-sponsored men’s sports in 2007-08, while finishing in second place in two other sports. ASU was the outright champion in cross country and outdoor track and field, and the Mountaineers shared the regular season crowns in football and men’s basketball as well. In total, Appalachian posted 84 points in the league’s annual all-sports competition, finishing 11 points ahead of the nearest school, second-place Furman (73 points).

Furman, the regular season and tournament champions in both soccer and tennis, ended the year ahead of Chattanooga (68.5), which won regular season SoCon titles in basketball and wrestling along with tournament championships in wrestling and golf. Davidson (61) edged UNC Greensboro (60) for fourth place, while Elon (56) jumped up to sixth in the final standings after winning both the regular season and tournament crowns in baseball.

The Citadel (49), Western Carolina (47.5) and Wofford (44) finished in the seventh through ninth spots, respectively, while College of Charleston (42.5), Georgia Southern (39.5) and associate member VMI (7) rounded out

the standings.

Chattanooga won the 2007-08 Germann Cup for the first time in school history. The Lady Mocs claimed three regular season and two tournament championships on the year, including a first-place finish in softball that clinched the Cup. In addition, UTC (74.5 points) was the SoCon champion in cross country and basketball, and it finished in fourth place or higher in six of nine sports, topping Furman (70) by 4.5 points.

The Lady Paladins’ teams took home two regular season and two tournament crowns, including tournament victories in golf and tennis during the same week in April. Following Furman in third place was the College of Charleston, the 2007 SoCon volleyball champions, with 68 total points. Elon finished in the fourth spot (62), just ahead of Appalachian State (60.5) in fifth and Western Carolina (59) in sixth.

Davidson (54), UNC Greensboro (52) and Georgia Southern (51) were the league’s seventh-, eighth- and ninth-highest rated teams, respectively, while Wofford (24) and The Citadel (18) completed the standings.

The Commissioner’s and Germann Cups are awarded annually to the Southern Conference schools fielding the league’s best all-around men’s and women’s sports programs. Schools earn points based upon its regular season finish, with two bonus points going to the team that wins the conference tournament.

The Commissioner’s Cup was inaugurated in 1970 and the Germann Cup was first awarded in 1987. The latter is named after former SoCon Commissioner, Ken Germann, who served as commissioner of the Southern Conference from 1974-86 and spearheaded the effort to introduce women’s athletics to the league.

Appalachian State has now won the Commissioner’s Cup 28 times since entering the SoCon in 1971, earning 16 of the last 17 trophies. Chattanooga won the award in 2004-05.

Chattanooga became just the fourth SoCon institution to win the Germann Cup, including the fourth in the past five seasons. Furman won a SoCon-record 12 straight Germann Cups from 1993 through 2004. Appalachian State won the inaugural cup and College of Charleston garnered the award in 2004-05. ASU also claimed the Germann Cup for two consecutive seasons prior to Chattanooga’s win this year.

Commissioner’s Cup

1. Appalachian State            84

2. Furman                           73

3. Chattanooga                    68.5

4. Davidson                         61

5. UNC Greensboro              60

6. Elon                                56

7. The Citadel                      49

8. Western Carolina             47.5

9. Wofford                           44

10. College of Charleston      42.5

11. Georgia Southern           39.5

12. VMI (wrestling only)        7

Germann Cup

1. Chattanooga                    74.5

2. Furman                           70

3. College of Charleston        68

4. Elon                                62

5. Appalachian State            60.5

6. Western Carolina             59

7. Davidson                         54

8. UNC Greensboro              52

9. Georgia Southern             51

10. Wofford                          24

11. The Citadel                    18