Liberty Leads Sasser Cup after Fall Seasons

Following the fall seasons, Liberty Athletics currently is at the top of the Big South Sasser Cup, Women's All-Sports Award and Men's All-Sports Award standings.

2009-10 Big South Sasser Cup Standings

Following another strong and successful fall season, the Liberty University Athletics Department finds itself atop the Big South Sasser Cup standings. Liberty is also is the leader in the both the Women's All-Sport and Men's All-Sport standings the league announced earlier today.

Liberty has more than a two-point edge over Coastal Carolina, as the Flames accumulated 78.25 points during the fall in six sports for an average score of 13.04. The Chanticleers' six athletics programs finished the fall with 64.25 cumulative points for an average score of 10.71.

All six of Liberty's athletics programs recorded a first or second-place finish during the fall seasons, beginning with a pair of championships by the men's and women's cross country teams.

The women's soccer team captured the Big South's regular-season title, while the men's soccer team posted a runner-up finish at the Big South Men's Soccer Championship.

Both the volleyball and football programs shared Big South regular-season titles, while the volleyball team made its third-straight appearance in the title game of the Big South Volleyball Championship, finishing runners-up this go-around.

Winthrop stands in fourth-place in the Sasser Cup standings with an average of 9.50 (47.5 points in five sports), followed by VMI at 7.70 (38.5 points in five sports). UNC Asheville holds the sixth position with a 7.00 average (35 points in five sports), while Charleston Southern is seventh at 6.60 (33 points in five sports).

Gardner-Webb stands eighth at 5.79 (34.75 points in six sports), followed by Radford at 5.60 (28 points in five sports) and Presbyterian at 2.88 (11.5 points in four sports).

In addition to the overall lead, Liberty stands in first-place in the Women's All-Sports Award race. The Lady Flames' current average of 13.83 (41.5 points in three women's sports) is ahead of VMI's 11.50 average (23 points in two sports). Coastal Carolina is third in the women's race with an 11.33 average (34 points in three sports).

Liberty's lead in the Men's All-Sports Award chase is slim, as its 12.25 average (36.75 points in three men's sports) is just ahead of High Point's 11.25 average (22.5 points in two sports). Winthrop is third with an average of 10.25 (20.5 points in two sports).

Liberty has won the last two Big South Sasser Cup titles and has been crowned the league's top athletics program with Sasser Cup titles seven out of the last 12 years.

Additionally, Liberty has won the last two Men's All-Sports Awards and four out of six since the award was established for the 2003-04 season. Liberty also captured the Women's All-Sports Award following the 2007-08 academic year.

The Sasser Cup Trophy, named for former Big South Commissioner Buddy Sasser, is awarded to the Big South member institution with the most successful year athletically, based on a points and ratio system.

Points are awarded based on both regular-season and tournament finish in each of the league's 18 championships, based on the number of teams participating in the regular-season and tournament, respectively. A school must be eligible to participate in a specific sport championship to receive Sasser Cup points in that sport.

There is a weighted factor of 1.5 for those sports that only participate in regular-season play (football) or a tournament (cross country, track, golf), but not both. Teams tied in regular-season or tournament play split the points earned. Each member's point totals are then divided by the number of sports sponsored by that school to determine the average.

2009-10 Sasser Cup, Women's and Men's All-Sports current standings

2009-10 Sasser Cup Standings
1. Liberty - 13.04
2. Coastal Carolina - 10.71
3. High Point - 9.90
4. Winthrop - 9.50
5. VMI - 7.70
6. UNC Asheville - 7.00
7. Charleston Southern - 6.60
8. Gardner-Webb - 5.79
9. Radford - 5.60
10. Presbyterian - 2.88

2009-10 Women's All-Sports Award Standings
1. Liberty - 13.83
2. VMI - 11.50
3. Coastal Carolina - 11.33
T-4. High Point - 9.00
T-4. Winthrop - 9.00
6. UNC Asheville - 7.33
7. Charleston Southern - 7.00
T-8. Gardner-Webb - 6.33
T-8. Radford - 6.33
10. Presbyterian - 3.00

2009-10 Men's All-Sports Award Standings
1. Liberty - 12.25
2. High Point - 11.25
3. Winthrop - 10.25
4. Coastal Carolina - 10.08
5. UNC Asheville - 6.50
6. Charleston Southern - 6.00
7. Gardner-Webb - 5.25
8. VMI - 5.17
9. Radford - 4.50
10. Presbyterian - 2.75