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Furman, Samford lead SoCon all-sports races
Paladins, Bulldogs hold Commissioner's, Germann cup leads after fall competition
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman’s men’s programs and Samford’s women’s programs lead the Southern Conference all-sport races after the completion of the fall championship seasons.
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, respectively. Scoring is conducted on a percentage basis, with only the top seven sports for each school counting toward its season total. The SoCon sponsors 20 total sports, with the league’s three co-ed rifle teams counting toward the Commissioner’s Cup standings and the two women’s rifle teams counting toward the Germann Cup.
Each sport is worth 10 points, with each spot in the standings given equal measure relative to how many schools sponsor that particular sport. For sports that determine a regular-season champion, a two-point bonus is awarded for winning the league tournament. Each school’s total for the year is divided by 70, the maximum number of points possible when counting seven sports, to find its percentage.
Furman’s men, seeking their third Commissioner’s Cup and second in three years, kicked off the fall with their 10th straight cross country title. The Paladins also turned in a second-place finish in football and a fifth-place finish in soccer to total 22.22 points, good for a .317 percentage.
Lurking just behind Furman is Mercer, which totaled 21.89 points and a .313 percentage. The Bears, seeking their first Commissioner’s Cup, turned in an extremely consistent fall, finishing third in the cross country championship as well as the soccer and football standings.
Defending Commissioner’s Cup champion ETSU rode a pair of runner-up finishes to third in the all-sport standings. The Bucs finished second in the cross country championship and soccer standings, totaling 19.56 points and a .279 percentage.
Men’s soccer regular-season and tournament champion UNCG is fourth with a .271 percentage, followed by Samford, which won the football title, with a .229 percentage.
Chattanooga is sixth at .175, followed by Wofford (.141), Western Carolina (.122), The Citadel (.113) and VMI (.068).
In the Germann Cup race, two-time defending champion Samford has the early lead for its fifth title after another successful fall in which the Bulldogs won the soccer and volleyball tournaments, shared the soccer regular-season title and finished second in the cross country championship and volleyball regular-season standings. Samford totaled 31.39 points in the Germann Cup standings, good for a .448 percentage.
Chattanooga stands second in the Germann Cup standings with 23.72 points and a .339 percentage. The Mocs earned a share of their first women’s soccer regular-season title in the fall and tied for third in the volleyball standings and fourth in the cross country championship.
ETSU is third with 22.50 points and a .321 percentage on the strength of its volleyball regular-season title and a third-place finish at the cross country championship. Western Carolina, which tied for third in the volleyball regular-season race, is fourth with a .275 percentage.
Mercer sits fifth with a .249 percentage, bolstered by a third-place finish in the soccer standings, while Furman, which claimed its 10th consecutive cross country crown, is sixth at .210.
UNCG is seventh at .175, followed by Wofford (.172), The Citadel (.110) and VMI (.043).
The Commissioner’s Cup was inaugurated in 1970 and the Germann Cup was first awarded in 1987. The latter is named for 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.
The 2022-23 academic year will see a winner of the Commissioner’s Cup crowned for the 53rd time and the Germann Cup awarded for the 36th time. The cups were not awarded in 2019-20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Six schools have won the Commissioner’s Cup in its history, including current members ETSU (2021-22, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2016-17, 2015-16 and 1982-83), Furman (1990-91 and 2020-21) and Chattanooga (2014-15 and 2004-05).
Five schools have won the Germann Cup. Among current schools, Furman owns a league-best 17, including 12 straight from 1992-2004 and five of six from 2013-14 to 2018-19. Samford has won four (2014-15, 2009-10, 2020-21 and 2021-22) and Chattanooga won in 2007-08.
Commissioner’s Cup (through fall sports)
(Men’s athletics)
Germann Cup (through fall sports)
(Women’s athletics)
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, respectively. Scoring is conducted on a percentage basis, with only the top seven sports for each school counting toward its season total. The SoCon sponsors 20 total sports, with the league’s three co-ed rifle teams counting toward the Commissioner’s Cup standings and the two women’s rifle teams counting toward the Germann Cup.
Each sport is worth 10 points, with each spot in the standings given equal measure relative to how many schools sponsor that particular sport. For sports that determine a regular-season champion, a two-point bonus is awarded for winning the league tournament. Each school’s total for the year is divided by 70, the maximum number of points possible when counting seven sports, to find its percentage.
Furman’s men, seeking their third Commissioner’s Cup and second in three years, kicked off the fall with their 10th straight cross country title. The Paladins also turned in a second-place finish in football and a fifth-place finish in soccer to total 22.22 points, good for a .317 percentage.
Lurking just behind Furman is Mercer, which totaled 21.89 points and a .313 percentage. The Bears, seeking their first Commissioner’s Cup, turned in an extremely consistent fall, finishing third in the cross country championship as well as the soccer and football standings.
Defending Commissioner’s Cup champion ETSU rode a pair of runner-up finishes to third in the all-sport standings. The Bucs finished second in the cross country championship and soccer standings, totaling 19.56 points and a .279 percentage.
Men’s soccer regular-season and tournament champion UNCG is fourth with a .271 percentage, followed by Samford, which won the football title, with a .229 percentage.
Chattanooga is sixth at .175, followed by Wofford (.141), Western Carolina (.122), The Citadel (.113) and VMI (.068).
In the Germann Cup race, two-time defending champion Samford has the early lead for its fifth title after another successful fall in which the Bulldogs won the soccer and volleyball tournaments, shared the soccer regular-season title and finished second in the cross country championship and volleyball regular-season standings. Samford totaled 31.39 points in the Germann Cup standings, good for a .448 percentage.
Chattanooga stands second in the Germann Cup standings with 23.72 points and a .339 percentage. The Mocs earned a share of their first women’s soccer regular-season title in the fall and tied for third in the volleyball standings and fourth in the cross country championship.
ETSU is third with 22.50 points and a .321 percentage on the strength of its volleyball regular-season title and a third-place finish at the cross country championship. Western Carolina, which tied for third in the volleyball regular-season race, is fourth with a .275 percentage.
Mercer sits fifth with a .249 percentage, bolstered by a third-place finish in the soccer standings, while Furman, which claimed its 10th consecutive cross country crown, is sixth at .210.
UNCG is seventh at .175, followed by Wofford (.172), The Citadel (.110) and VMI (.043).
The Commissioner’s Cup was inaugurated in 1970 and the Germann Cup was first awarded in 1987. The latter is named for 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.
The 2022-23 academic year will see a winner of the Commissioner’s Cup crowned for the 53rd time and the Germann Cup awarded for the 36th time. The cups were not awarded in 2019-20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Six schools have won the Commissioner’s Cup in its history, including current members ETSU (2021-22, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2016-17, 2015-16 and 1982-83), Furman (1990-91 and 2020-21) and Chattanooga (2014-15 and 2004-05).
Five schools have won the Germann Cup. Among current schools, Furman owns a league-best 17, including 12 straight from 1992-2004 and five of six from 2013-14 to 2018-19. Samford has won four (2014-15, 2009-10, 2020-21 and 2021-22) and Chattanooga won in 2007-08.
Commissioner’s Cup (through fall sports)
(Men’s athletics)
| School | Pct. |
| 1. Furman | 0.317 |
| 2. Mercer | 0.313 |
| 3. ETSU | 0.279 |
| 4. UNCG | 0.271 |
| 5. Samford | 0.229 |
| 6. Chattanooga | 0.175 |
| 7. Wofford | 0.141 |
| 8. Western Carolina | 0.122 |
| 9. The Citadel | 0.113 |
| 10. VMI | 0.068 |
Germann Cup (through fall sports)
(Women’s athletics)
| School | Pct. |
| 1. Samford | 0.448 |
| 2. Chattanooga | 0.339 |
| 3. ETSU | 0.321 |
| 4. Western Carolina | 0.275 |
| 5. Mercer | 0.249 |
| 6. Furman | 0.210 |
| 7. UNCG | 0.175 |
| 8. Wofford | 0.172 |
| 9. The Citadel | 0.110 |
| 10. VMI | 0.043 |
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