For the second consecutive year – and seventh time since the award’s inception in 1998 – UC Santa Barbara has been awarded the Big West Conference Commissioner’s Cup. The Cup is presented to the institution with the best overall results in the conference’s 17 sponsored sports championships.

“I am very proud of our coaches and student-athletes,” said Athletics Director Gary Cunningham. “As was the case with all of the other Commissioner’s Cups, this one is a testament to their ability, hard work and pride in UC Santa Barbara.”

By winning seven conference championships this year to go along with two second-place finishes, the Gauchos averaged 127.9 points in the Commissioner’s Cup standings to edge Long Beach State, which finished with a 120 point average.

UCSB ended the 2007 fall sports season with two championships to their credit. Women’s cross country took down its fourth title in five years before nabbing a 19th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Men’s soccer also won the division, though it was not able to duplicate the success of their 2006 NCAA Championship season, making an early exit in the Sweet 16 with a loss to Ohio State.

The Gauchos dominated in winter, taking two championships from the pool courtesy of men’s and women’s swimming. The Gauchos also reasserted their dominance on the hardcourt, with women’s basketball returning to the top after UC Riverside had placed first in conference for the past two years. The men’s basketball team ended up with a three-way share of the Big West title, tying Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton atop conference standings before suffering a disappointing exit to Irvine in the Championship tournament.

The men’s tennis team took down Santa Barbara’s seventh and final championship in spring, winning its third consecutive conference crown.