• All-Time OVC Commissioner's Cup History | 2018-19 Final Standings (PDF)
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Murray State University has won the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner's Cup for the 2018-19 school year the league office announced on Tuesday.
It marks the second Cup title for Murray State, who won the inaugural championship in 2008-09. The award, which is a symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships, will be presented to university officials on May 31 at the league's annual Honors Brunch in Nashville.
Murray State finished with 128 points, the highest point total in Cup history, besting the total of 124.5 by Eastern Kentucky in 2014-15. The Racers finished 13 points higher than second-place, the second-largest margin of victory in Cup history.
Murray State was bolstered by first-place finishes in men’s basketball, rifle, women’s golf and women’s outdoor track & field and second-place finishes in volleyball, soccer and women’s indoor track & field.
Jacksonville State (115) was second and followed by Belmont (114), Austin Peay (109), Southeast Missouri (98.75), Eastern Kentucky (97.5), Eastern Illinois (88.75), Morehead State (85.5), Tennessee Tech (81.5), UT Martin (76.5) and SIUE and Tennessee State (64 points apiece).
The award (which started in 1962-63 for men's sports and 1980-81 for women's sports) was previously divided into a Men's All-Sport Champion and a Women's All-Sport Champion. Points were awarded for each of the 18 sponsored sports and each school was required to count its totals from each sport in its grand total.
Under the latest scoring system, schools are required to count point totals for four main sports (football, volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball) along with their next eight highest point totals from the remaining sports, regardless of gender. Belmont, Morehead State and SIUE, which do not compete in OVC football, count baseball as one of its four required sports.
The points system for scoring is as follows. For all sports (except rifle, men's tennis and men's indoor and men's outdoor track - which have fewer participating teams), the first-place team earns 12 points, the second-place team earns 11 points, etc. For rifle, men's tennis and men's indoor and men's outdoor track and field, the first-place team earns 12 points and subsequent point increments are calculated by dividing the total number of OVC member institutions by the number of institutions sponsoring the sport. The scoring system also includes a bonus point for the winner of OVC Tournaments (soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis, softball and baseball).