Indiana Tech Wins 2023 Fred Smith Commissioner's Cup
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Indiana Tech totaled 258.5 points to win the 2023 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Fred Smith Commissioner's Cup. The Cup is named after longtime Siena Heights athletics director Fred Smith, who was instrumental in the development of the conference.
The Warriors captured eight conference championships and four conference tournament titles to claim their seventh Cup crown. The award, which recognizes excellence in the athletics department, was presented by Commissioner Eric Ward at the WHAC Spring Meeting hosted by Cornerstone.
"Winning the Commissioners Cup is a tribute to all the hard work our coaches, staff, and student-athletes put into Indiana Tech's athletic department," commented Athletics Director Jessie Biggs. "While success on the playing surface is only a small part of the college experience it is an important one that teaches teamwork, dedication, and a belief in common goal achievement."
Indiana Tech has won the last six trophies, five of them outright and tied with Madonna in 2017-18. Aquinas, who finished second this year with 169.3 points, holds the record with 11 awards. There was no Commissioner's Cup awarded for the 2019-20 season due to the cancellation of the spring sports season. Cornerstone landed in third place with 157 points.
As the athletics director at the winning school, Biggs will receive a special ring from Baron Rings commemorating the occasion.
Named after longtime Siena Heights athletics director Fred Smith for his outstanding contributions to the league, the WHAC Fred Smith Commissioner's Cup is computed using 12 sports (six men's and six women's) for each school. Points are awarded in descending order to full WHAC members based on regular season standings in each conference sport plus an additional five points to the conference tournament champion. The point allocation, for those conference sports sponsored by eight (8) or more WHAC members, is 20 points for first place, 15 for second place, 12 points for third place, 10 points for fourth place, eight points for fifth place, seven points for sixth place, and so on. The conference tournament champion for sports without regular season standings will receive 25 points with the rest of the point allocations following the same format listed above.
2022-23 Fred Smith Commissioner's Cup Final Scores
1. Indiana Tech - 258.5
2. Aquinas - 169.3
3. Cornerstone - 157.0
4. Madonna - 154.3
5. Lawrence Tech - 143.3
6. Siena Heights - 129.5
7. Concordia - 126.0
8. UNOH - 110.5
9. Rochester - 98.0
10. Lourdes - 93.5
11. Cleary - 68.0
12. UM-Dearborn - 64.5
All-Time All-Sports Trophy/Commissioner's Cup Winners
1993-94 - Tri-State
1994-95 - Siena Heights
1995-96 - Siena Heights
1996-97 - Siena Heights
1997-98 - Aquinas
1998-99 - Aquinas
1999-2000 - Aquinas
2000-01 - Aquinas
2001-02 - Aquinas
2002-03 - Aquinas
2003-04 - Aquinas
2004-05 - Madonna
2005-06 - Aquinas
2006-07 - Cornerstone
2007-08 - Aquinas
2008-09 - Aquinas
2009-10 - Aquinas
2010-11 - Davenport
2011-12 - Davenport
2012-13 - Davenport
2013-14 - Davenport
2014-15 - Davenport
2015-16 - Davenport
2016-17 - Indiana Tech
2017-18 - Indiana Tech/Madonna
2018-19 - Indiana Tech
2019-20 - No Cup Awarded
2020-21 - Indiana Tech
2021-22 - Indiana Tech
2022-23 - Indiana Tech