With league championships in both men’s and women’s outdoor track and field and five runner-up finishes, Sam Houston State University has won the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Cup for the second year in a row.
With 125.5 points, the Sam Houston State athlete department finished four and a half points ahead of runner-up Texas-San Antonio.
Director of Athletics Bobby Williams set winning the Commissioner’s Cup as the department’s top goal when he took the job eight years ago.
“I appreciate winning the cup more this year because it took so long to win the first one,” Williams said. “On the surface, it appeared to be easier winning the cup this year, but in reality it was more difficult. It took two championships, five league runner-up finishes, and an all-time best Southland finishes from both soccer and tennis.”
The Bearkat track and field/cross country program, which accounts for six of Sam Houston State 16 men’s and women’s sports, played a major roll in winning the cup a second time.
During the 2005-06 school year, they won Southland titles in both men’s and women’s outdoor track and field and finished as runners-up in volleyball, men’s basketball, men’s cross country, and both men’s and women’s indoor track and field.