Fairfield placed 2nd in overall Commissioner's Cup standings.
For the second straight season, Fairfield University Athletics has won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women's Commissioner's Cup.
The overall Commissioner's Cup came down to just 0.25 points, with Quinnipiac edging out the Stags for that trophy. The margin was the closest since 2010-11, when Iona and Marist finished tied on the final ledger.
Fairfield's second straight Women's Commissioner's Cup is also the third in four years for the Stags. Fairfield has ranked in the top three in the women's standings for seven consecutive seasons and has now tied Marist for an all-time, MAAC-best 11 Women's Commissioner's Cup victories. Fairfield was led in the standings by MAAC Championships for the women's swimming & diving and women's lacrosse teams, as well as regular season championships in volleyball, women's soccer, and women's lacrosse.
Also on the women's side, women's tennis reached the MAAC Championship match and women's rowing placed second at the MAAC Championship regatta. Fairfield shared the MAAC Women's Commissioner's Cup this year with Quinnipiac.
The Fairfield men's athletics programs were led by MAAC regular season championships for baseball and men's tennis, both of which also reached the final of their respective conference tournaments. Men's golf also finished second at the MAAC Championship, propelled by an individual championship performance from Killian McGinley. The Stags placed fifth in the MAAC Men's Commissioner's Cup standings for the second consecutive year. Fairfield is the only MAAC program to slot among the top five in the men's standings in each of the last three seasons.
Though they did not factor into the Commissioner's Cup standings, the 2022-23 season also featured successful campaigns outside the MAAC. Fairfield's Field Hockey program, which competes in the Northeast Conference, advanced to the final of its conference championship tournament for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. Men's rowing recorded its best-ever showing at the historic Dad Vail Regatta, earning two medals with four total boats qualifying for a Grand Final.
"Our position in the 2022-23 Commissioner's Cup standings is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of many people, and I am very proud of everybody involved for their contributions to our continued growth and our success," said Vice President for Athletics Paul Schlickmann.
"Our competitive success this year is highlighted by MAAC Championship seasons for women's swimming & diving and women's lacrosse, as well as regular season titles from volleyball, women's soccer, women's lacrosse, men's tennis, and baseball. But truly, this honor is shared by the student-athletes, coaches and staff from all 20 of our programs," Schlickmann continued. "All Fairfield Stags are a part of building and maintaining our culture, competing every play, every day, and celebrating successes as one team and one family. I am impressed, but not surprised, that our student-athletes continue to raise the bar in our collective pursuit of excellence in all of our endeavors. I look forward to what the future holds in 2023-24 and beyond. Go Stags!"
The MAAC Commissioner's Cup was recently re-christened as the Richard J. Ensor, Esq. MAAC Commissioner's Cup in honor of the outgoing commissioner, a longtime conference leader. It is awarded annually as a symbol of overall excellence in athletics in the 23 championships conducted within the MAAC. Only the scores from men's & women's basketball, plus the top six men's and top six women's scores from each institution are used to determine an institution's total points.
"I would like to congratulate the student-athletes, coaches, and administrators at Quinnipiac [overall], Fairfield [women's], and Iona [men's] for winning the 2022-23 Richard J. Ensor, Esq. Commissioner's Cups," said newly appointed MAAC Commissioner Travis Tellitocci. "This award recognizes overall athletics excellence in the conference and is a testament to the great success that was achieved over the past season by each school."
A charter member of the MAAC, Fairfield University has won a total of 18 Commissioner's Cup trophies during its tenure in the conference.
MAAC Commissioner's Cup (Overall): 1994-95, 1997-98, 2008-09, 2011-12
MAAC Commissioner's Cup (Women's): 1993-94, 1994-95, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2008-09, 2014-15, 2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23
MAAC Commissioner's Cup (Men's): 1994-95, 1996-97, 2011-12
