CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
As part of “Griffin Success Week”, today we take a closer look at Canisius winning the 2017-18 Pepsi MAAC Men’s Commissioner’s Cup and the 2017-18 Canal Cup, presented annually to the winner of the Battle of the Bridge competition between Canisius and Niagara.
For previous editions from “Griffin Success Week”, click below:
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2017-18 Pepsi MAAC Men’s Commissioner’s Cup
• Canisius won its first MAAC Men’s Commissioner’s Cup in 2017-18, an award presented annually to the top overall, men’s and women’s athletic departments in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
• The Golden Griffins claimed the top spot in the men’s competition with 71.25 points. Monmouth took second-place with 70 points, while Rider (61.75), Iona (60.50) and Quinnipiac (56.0) rounded out the top-five in the final standings.
• Per the MAAC by-laws, each conference member institution is scored in all championships that it fields a varsity team. However, only the scores from the men’s and women’s basketball participation, plus the other top six men’s and other top six women’s championships are used to determine an institution’s total points.
• Three Canisius men’s program earned MAAC titles in 2017-18, highlighted by baseball and men’s lacrosse winning MAAC Championship crowns, which earned those program’s automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, men’s basketball earned a share of the 2017-18 MAAC regular-season crown, the program’s first since 1993-94.
2017-18 Battle of the Bridge
• Canisius won its ninth straight, and 10th Canal Cup in the last 12 years as the winner of the annual Battle of the Bridge competition.
• The Battle of the Bridge series, which started in 2006-07, was developed as an all-sports competition in an effort to enhance the historic rivalry between the Golden Griffins and Niagara Purple Eagles.
• The name of the series is in reference to the Grand Island Bridge, which each team crosses when traveling to the other’s campus. The name of the trophy is in reference to the Erie Canal, which intersects Niagara County, where Niagara is located, and Erie County, where Canisius is located.
• Canisius earned 27 of a possible 36 points en route to claiming the Canal Cup.
