When early June rolls around, the Boston University athletics department usually has one thing on its mind: hardware. And Wednesday, the America East made sure that Terriers got what they wanted.
For the third straight year, BU received the Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner’s Cup, given annually to the strongest athletic program in the conference. Both the women’s tennis and women’s soccer teams’ America East Championships helped propel the Terriers to the league’s top prize along with BU’s four second-place finishes throughout the course of the year.
BU racked up 338 points in the Cup’s scoring system, with the University of Maine (which took home two conference titles itself) following close behind with 344. Northeastern (proud owners of five league crowns) rounded out the top three with 333 points.
But while the 22 Terrier teams can say they are the best the America East has to offer once again, BU didn’t dominate the conference this academic year like it has in the past. Several teams finished below expectations, most notably the two-time defending champion softball and lacrosse teams who failed to win either the regular season or tournament title. Other squads who were expected to make a run at a crown (e.g. the men’s basketball and soccer teams) also came up short, bowing out early in the conference playoffs.
Those shortcomings aside, BU has raised the bar for both itself and the conference, leaving only one thing left on everyone’s mind around Babcock Street: the 2004-2005 season.
