America East (AE) conference commissioner Brad Walker announced that Binghamton had won the 2022-23 Stuart P. Haskell Jr. Commissioner’s Cup, marking the first time BU Athletics has captured the honor in its 22-year Division I (D1) program history.

“It’s a good feeling [to win the commissioner’s cup],” said Binghamton Athletic Director Eugene Marshall. “I want to give a special thanks to [President Harvey Stenger] for really believing in the athletic department and trying to help us, from where he sits, to put us in a position to do this.”

The Commissioner’s Cup recognizes the strongest athletics program on an annual basis in the AE, using a scoring system that rewards programs’ performances in both the regular season and in postseason competition.

Binghamton earned the victory with 367 points, beating out runner-up Albany, which tallied 335 points and third place UMBC, which received 292 points. Vermont, UMass Lowell, UNH, Maine, Bryant and NJIT rounded out the bottom six teams in the standings.

“This is a great next step and a building block to secure Bearcat athletics in a winning light,” Marshall said. “This really helps us to build a winning culture which I will now call Bearcat culture.”

In the fall, BU netted a regular season title and an AE tournament runner-up finish from its women’s soccer team along with another regular season title from its volleyball team, earning 46 and 27 points, respectively. In addition, the men’s and women’s cross country teams captured runner-up conference finishes, earning 32 points each to put Binghamton in second place with 128 points after the conclusion of the fall season.

The Bearcats climbed into first place during the winter season after strong performances from the men’s basketball and indoor track and field teams, who combined for another 80 points, ultimately bringing Binghamton’s total up to 224 points.

Binghamton’s success continued in the spring with multiple teams having historically strong seasons. The men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, outdoor track and field teams, baseball team and softball team raised the Bearcats’ total point count to 367, giving them about a 30-point edge, and the victory, over in-state rivals Albany.

“It’s a team effort,” Marshall said. “Everybody has a part in this. As the leader you just try to motivate and support everybody as they carry out their missions during their season … our goal now is to win more regular season championships and to win some conference championships.”

Overall, BU Athletics earned seven runner-up program finishes while also maintaining an overall AE win percentage of just under 60 percent. Four Binghamton coaching staff also earned recognition for best in the AE. Additionally, BU also had three All-Americans named across three sports.

“For us to come in second in seven sports and eight out of ten sports being in the top four and then having some All Americans, some coaching staffs of the year…” Marshall said. “This is what is going to build the foundation to win some individual championships.”

After winning the Commissioner’s Cup, Marshall also expressed his strong desire to continue supporting BU’s athletic programs by encouraging more student attendance, community involvement at athletic events and higher funding for several BU sports teams.

“We want to be able to have a packed house and make our place a tough place to play,” Marshall said. “[Winning the Commissioner’s Cup] is not the end. It is just the beginning of this process. “