WALTHAM, Mass. -- Bentley University is the 2008-09 recipient of the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents Cup, capturing the honor of having the conference's preeminent athletic program for the eighth time in the last 14 years. The award was presented Monday night when the NE-10 held its end-of-the-year awards banquet in Mystic, Conn.
Bentley amassed 165 points, 12.5 more than runner-up Stonehill College, to win the Presidents' Cup for the first since 2003. Previously, Bentley took the honor annually from 1996-99 and again from 2001-03. Points are awarded based on each team's finish in the final conference standings.
Success in the Presidents' Cup standings is nothing new to the Bentley athletic program. This marked the 21st time in the last 22 years that the Falcons have finished either first or second, and the 23rd consecutive year they've been in the top three.
Bentley had consistent success throughout the 2008-09 academic year, finishing in the top five in 14 sports (baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's cross country, field hockey, football, women's indoor track, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, men's swimming, women's swimming, men's tennis, women's tennis and volleyball).
The men's basketball team extended its string of regular season NE-10 titles to an unprecedented five, field hockey captured the NE-10 playoff title, and both the women's basketball and women's tennis teams competed in the NE-10 playoff championship games.
Bentley, represented in NCAA Division II championship play in six team sports (men's basketball, women's basketball, field hockey, men's tennis, women's tennis and volleyball) and three individual sports (women's cross country, men's swimming, women's swimming), had a record of 136-70 in regular season Northeast-10 competition.
