SAN FRANCISCO – Cal State San Marcos has won the CCAA Robert J. Hiegert Commissioner's Cup for the first time. The award was announced at the conference's annual spring Executive Council meetings on Wednesday, June 7.
 
The award, named in honor of former long-time Commissioner and CCAA Hall of Famer Robert J. Hiegert, is given to the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) member institution with the highest aggregate ranking in eight of the CCAA's 13 championship sports.
 
The Cougars captured two conference championships and six more top 3 finishes during the 2022-23 campaign to finish with 90.12 points. The conference titles went to the men's and women's golf teams. It was the fourth consecutive CCAA Championship for the women and the first for the men.

CSUSM earned another conference title when its women's basketball team won the CCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The men's basketball team also placed second in the regular season standings. Softball, men's cross country, men's track & field, and women's track & field all finished third in the finals standings to help Cal State San Marcos win the athletic program's first commissioner's cup.
 
"We are honored to receive this year's CCAA Commissioner's Cup," said CSUSM Director of Athletics Jennifer Milo. "This award represents a tremendous amount of grit, resiliency, hard work, integrity, and character by all of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and administration. I'm so incredibly proud of everyone who shows up every day to demonstrate what is so special about CSUSM Athletics."
 
The Cougars finished 5.51 points ahead of Cal Poly Pomona, which placed second with 84.61 points. The Broncos won the men's and women's track & field championships and the volleyball tournament title. They also finished in the top 3 in men's cross country, men's soccer, baseball, and volleyball.
 
"The Cougars came so close last year to winning the cup, but they were not to be denied in 2022-23!" said CCAA Commissioner Mitch Cox. "Congratulations to Director of Athletics Jen Milo and her entire staff for this outstanding accomplishment! Go Cougars!"
 
Chico State placed third with 82.51 points, followed by Cal State San Bernardino (79.25), Sonoma State (69.3), and Cal State LA (66.91). Cal State Monterey Bay (62.25), Stanislaus State (62.17), Cal State East Bay (61.8), Cal State Dominguez Hills (50.69), Cal Poly Humboldt (50.69), and San Francisco State (50.54) round out the rest of the 2022-23 Hiegert Commissioner's Cup standings.
 
Last year, Cal State San Marcos finished second in the commissioner's cup, just 0.26 points behind Chico State. The Cougars become just the fourth athletic program to win the commissioner's cup since its inception in 2005-06. UC San Diego has the most titles, with eight, followed by Chico State with six. Cal Poly Pomona won the other title (2014-15).
  
An institution's Hiegert Cup ranking is calculated using its top two Conference finishes in the fall, winter, and spring sports seasons and the next two highest finishes, regardless of the season. The specific number of points garnered per sport is determined by the number of institutions sponsoring the sport.