SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With just three men’s and women’s championships remaining, ETSU’s men’s programs and Samford’s women’s programs lead the 2020-21 Southern Conference all-sport races.
 
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 22 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.
 
The all-sports cups were not awarded in 2019-20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
 
ETSU’s men, seeking their fifth consecutive Commissioner’s Cup win, hold a slim lead over Furman on the strength of two recent spring championships. The Bucs have totaled 55.38 points so far, good for a .791 percentage. In the last couple of weeks, ETSU has captured the men’s golf championship and secured regular-season and tournament titles in tennis. The Bucs tied for second in the soccer regular season and posted third-place finishes in the football regular season and the cross country championship.
 
Furman is right behind ETSU in second with 54.94 points and a .785 percentage. The Paladins got off to a strong start with a win in the lone fall championship, winning their eighth straight cross country title. Furman added a regular-season title in men’s soccer and third-place finishes in indoor track and field, basketball, golf and tennis.
 
VMI sits a distant third with 42.23 points and a .603 percentage. The Keydets won their first football title since 1977 and finished second in the cross country championship. Basketball regular-season and tournament champion and soccer tournament champion UNCG sits fourth at .537, followed by Chattanooga (.502), indoor track and field champion Samford (.465), Wofford (.455), Mercer (.428), The Citadel (.325) and Western Carolina (.309).
 
In the Germann Cup race, Samford has ridden regular-season titles in soccer, volleyball and basketball and championship titles in indoor track and field and volleyball win to the top of the all-sports race. The Bulldogs, who also finished second in the cross country championship, have totaled 62.25 points, good for an .889 percentage. Samford is seeking its third Germann Cup win and first since 2014-15.
 
Lurking closely behind Samford is four-time defending Germann Cup champion Furman with 56.26 points and an .804 percentage. The Paladins won their eighth consecutive cross country title in the fall before adding the soccer tournament title and tennis regular-season and tournament title this spring. Furman posted runner-up finishes in the soccer regular season and the golf championship.
 
Women’s golf champion ETSU sits third at .618. The Bucs posted a runner-up finish in the tennis regular season and finished third in the cross country and indoor track and field championships. Volleyball regular-season co-champion Mercer, which also won the basketball tournament and finished second in the regular-season standings, is fourth with a .584 percentage.
 
Wofford sits fifth with a .568 percentage, followed by Chattanooga (.544), Western Carolina (.413), UNCG (.390), The Citadel (.201) and VMI (.174).
 
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.
 
Six schools have won the Commissioner’s Cup in the 49-year history of the award, including current members ETSU (2018-19, 2017-18, 2016-17, 2015-16 and 1982-83), Chattanooga (2014-15 and 2004-05) and Furman (1990-91).
 
Five schools have won the Germann Cup in its 32-year history. Among current schools, Furman owns a league-best 17, including 12 straight from 1992-2004 and each of the last four. Samford has won two (2014-15 and 2009-10) and Chattanooga won in 2007-08.
 
Commissioner’s Cup
(Men’s athletics)
1. ETSU                                   0.791
2. Furman                                 0.785
3. VMI                                      0.603
4. UNCG                                  0.537
5. Chattanooga                         0.502
6. Samford                               0.465
7. Wofford                                0.455
8. Mercer                                  0.428
9. The Citadel                           0.325
10. Western Carolina                0.309
 
Germann Cup
(Women’s athletics)
1. Samford                               0.889
2. Furman                                 0.804
3. ETSU                                   0.618
4. Mercer                                  0.584
5. Wofford                                0.568
6. Chattanooga                         0.544
7. Western Carolina                  0.413
8. UNCG                                  0.390
9. The Citadel                           0.201
10. VMI                                    0.174