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News Release

Six Titles Propel UMBC Athletics to Third Place Finish in Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner's Cup Race; Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Tennis Honored in Academic Cup

6/25/2008

The UMBC athletic program finished in an impressive third place in the  Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner’s Cup race for the 2007-08 America East Conference season. It was UMBC’s highest finish in five America East seasons and the Retrievers nearly overtook Albany for second place.

Boston University won the title, winning a league-high six championships and amassing 378 points. Albany finished second with 318 points, edging UMBC, which accumulated 314 points. The Retrievers had the best men’s program in the conference, totaling 184 points in nine men’s league championship sports, besting Binghamton which had 166. UMBC’s men posted an overall record of 86-53-5 (.608) this season and were 34-17-2 (.660) in America East competition. 

The Terriers won the honor for the third straight year and sixth time in the past seven years. BU earned the America East Conference’s award that annually recognizes the highest scoring athletic program in America East as determined by a points system, which rewards a school for success both during the regular season and at championship competition in the league’s 22 sports.

“I am very pleased with our progress,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Charles Brown.  “We had a great deal of past success in previous conferences and it is our goal each year to win the cup. This competition is a great motivator for each team to contribute to the overall success of the program and we are already looking forward to next year.”

The Retrievers won a total of six titles (tournament and regular season), second only to the Terriers’ nine. UMBC’s men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse team won both the regular season and tournament championships, while the men’s and women’s swimming and diving squads also won league titles.

UMBC finished in fourth place in each of the last two years. The program won five consecutive Commissioner’s Cup awards (1998-2003) in all five years in the Northeast Conference.

The conference also released the results of the Academic Cup, which is presented to the institution whose student-athletes post the highest grade-point averages during that academic year. Vermont won that title for the fourth straight year with a conference- record 3.14 cumulative grade-point average. The UMBC women’s swimming and diving (3.29) was the lone program to win an America East Championship and post the highest grade-point average among the conference’s swimming and diving teams. The Retriever women’s tennis team was also an individual sport winner, posting a cumulative grade-point average of 3.49.

Final Results: (Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner’s Cup): 1. Boston University 378;  2. Albany 318; 3. UMBC 314; 4. Binghamton 291; T5. New Hampshire 278; T5. Stony Brook 278; 7. Vermont 250; 8. Hartford 206; 9. Maine 147

For more information on the Stuart P. Haskell Commissioner’s Cup or the America East Academic Cup, please log onto www.AmericaEast.com .