WESTFIELD – Westfield State reclaimed the Smith Cup after a one-year absence, signifying the best overall athletics program in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2019-20 academic year.
Westfield wins the cup for the fifth time in the last six years, fueled by conference regular-season championships from women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s soccer, and championship meet wins from women’s cross country, and women’s indoor track and field. Westfield’s women’s basketball, men’s cross country and ice hockey each placed second in the conference tables.
The Owls earned 82.5 points out of a possible 112, for 73.66 percent, easily outdistancing second place Framingham State (74 out of 112, 66.07 percent).
The Smith Cup is named for Howard C. Smith, the former Massachusetts State College trustee who urged the formation of the conference in 1971. The 2019-20 standings were determined by the institutions’ success in the fall and winter seasons only, as the 2020 spring seasons were cut short in March due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that sent students home from campuses early.
Westfield State has now won the cup in nine of the last 14 seasons, and 15 times overall. The Owls won four straight cups from 2015 through 2018.
The MASCAC is the NCAA’s oldest NCAA Division III conference with the six Massachusetts State Colleges, MCLA and Mass Maritime comprising the core membership. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
