Behind the first Southland Conference Women’s Indoor Track and Field championship, the Northwestern State athletic department took a sizeable step forward in the final 2022-23 Southland Conference Commissioner’s Cup.
A year after finishing seventh of eight teams, the Northwestern State athletic teams fared better in an expanded Southland Conference, sharing fourth place in the 10-team Southland Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings. It marks Northwestern State’s first top-five Commissioner’s Cup finish since a fifth-place finish in 2014-15 when the Southland was a 13-team league.
“Taking a step forward in the realm of Southland Conference competition is a source of pride for our department as a whole,” said Director of Athletics Kevin Bostian, who completed his first athletic calendar in charge of the department. “What is equally impressive is our student-athletes found that success while maintaining their standing in the classroom and while capturing the Southland Conference Community Service Award. One of our goals as a department is to produce quality, well-rounded people who can make a difference on the playing field, in the classroom and in the community. Our student-athletes delivered on that promise this year, and we look forward to continuing that momentum in the 2023-24 athletic year.”
Northwestern State finished with 93 points in the all-sports standings, collecting 66.4 percent of its available points – the second-highest total in the league behind New Orleans, which shared fourth place with NSU. UIW (117), Lamar (106.5) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (104) rounded out the top three in overall points.
Northwestern State’s men’s programs finished in a third-place tie with Lamar at 42 points, finishing behind UIW (63.5) and New Orleans (48) – two teams that sponsor at least one more men’s sport than NSU. The Cardinals picked up 12 points in tennis and golf while UNO accrued 19 points in those sports.
Men’s basketball and both indoor and outdoor track and field collected nine of a possible 10 points while football added eight points. The Southland Conference awards Commissioner’s Cup points on a 10-to-1 scale based on regular-season finish in all but track and field and golf.
On the women’s side, NSU’s first indoor track and field championship helped the Lady Demons accrue 51 points, including nine-point performances from outdoor track and field and soccer. Volleyball’s fifth-place finish was good for six points, one of four upper-half finishes for NSU’s eight sponsored women’s sports.
Overall, Northwestern State competes in 14 of the 18 Southland Conference sports that are part of the Commissioner’s Cup competition.
