WESTFIELD, Mass. – After the conclusion of the winter sports season, Westfield State University Athletics continues to hold the top spot in the 2023-24 Howard C. Smith Cup standings, awarded annually to the institution with the best overall athletics program in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The Owls have totaled 92 of a possible 112 points, collecting 82.14% of available points. Bridgewater State currently sits in second place behind Westfield, securing 75% of possible points (75 of 100 available points). Worcester State rounds off the top three, earning 64 of 112 available points at 57.14%.
After a strong fall season in which the Owls collected three MASCAC Championships from women's cross country, men's cross country, and women's soccer along with a regular season championship from women's volleyball, the winter season saw a trio of top three point-placement finishes.
Men's ice hockey added ten points to the Owls total after placing second out of six MASCAC member institutions. Men's basketball split the points with Bridgewater State for second place, earning nine points, while women's basketball supplied eight points for finishing third in the conference as well. All three teams reached the conference semifinals.
From the ten championship-competing sports in the fall and winter seasons, the Owls have posted top three finishes in every sport thus far (comprised of MASCAC member teams only, not affiliate teams).
Westfield will turn to the spring sports of women's lacrosse, baseball, softball, and men's and women's outdoor track and field in a closing effort to claim the Smith Cup for the fourth straight season.
The Smith Cup is named in honor of former Massachusetts State College Trustee Howard C. Smith, who in 1970, urged the athletic directors of the eight State institutions to hold a series of meetings to discuss the possibility of forming an intercollegiate conference. In June of 1971, Smith's dream became a reality as an affirmative agreement was reached and the MASCAC was created.