BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – Long Island University claimed its second consecutive Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup, the NEC announced on Tuesday. The Sharks also repeated as champions of the NEC Men’s Commissioner’s Cup.
The NEC’s Commissioner’s Cup program rewards the all-around performance of an athletic department in NEC sponsored sports.
The point formula was modified for 2025-26, awarding five bonus points to the NEC regular season champions in sports with round-robin formats and eight bonus points to NEC Tournament champions in all sports. The scoring also shifted to a bottom-up scoring model, in which the last-place team in each sport earns one point, the second-to-last earns two points, and so on.
LIU outlasted both FDU and Wagner in a Commissioner’s Cup battle that came down to the final stretch of the season, with the Sharks clinching the Brenda Weare Cup and Men’s Cup by securing the NEC baseball regular season crown.
The Sharks racked up 197 points, beating out the Knights (174) and the Seahawks (170).
LIU claimed NEC Tournament championships in baseball, men’s basketball and women’s volleyball, adding regular season titles in those three sports as well as softball.
Highlighting the program’s depth, LIU earned top-three NEC finishes in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, softball and women’s volleyball.
“Our goal for 2025-26 was to pursue the highest level of competitiveness across all programs,” said Elliott Charles, LIU’s Director of Athletics. “We raised the bar across the board in 2024-25 and entered 2025-26 expecting nothing less.
Winning the 2025-26 Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cup is an incredible honor and a hallmark of a back-to-back championship era for Long Island University. This recognition is the result of a collective effort by our student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, fans, and the university community as we push into the next era that will define LIU Athletics. We are blessed to continue to have the opportunity to lead the NEC and we will continue to do so with grit, unwavering effort, and humility.
Thank you to Commissioner Noreen Morris and the NEC staff, President Dr. Kimberly Cline, our fellow NEC member institutions and SharkNation for making this such a special year! #FinsUp”
LIU repeated as NEC Men’s Cup champion with 102.5 points, while FDU (79), Wagner (77.5) and CCSU (73) finished bunched together in a tight battle for second.
LIU’s strong all-around year included the program’s seventh NEC men’s basketball and fourth baseball title, along with tournament runner-up finishes in men’s golf and men’s lacrosse. The Sharks have now logged top-three finishes in the Men’s Cup standings in each of the last six seasons.
Weare, who passed away in June 2009, made a lasting impact in her three years as Commissioner of the NEC. In that time, she introduced a number of new programs aimed at upgrading the caliber of the league’s championship sports and enhancing the opportunities and experiences for the more than 4,000 student-athletes that compete in the conference. In addition to securing Bryant as an NEC full-time member, Weare was instrumental in the NEC gaining automatic access to the NCAA Division I Football Championship beginning in 2010, spearheading the conference’s Strategic Plan and implementing a new leaguewide sportsmanship policy. The Commissioner’s Cup was renamed in her honor in May of 2009.
