Hope College has won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Commissioner's Cup for the best overall athletic performance during the 2008-09 school year.

 Hope College has won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Commissioner's Cup for the best overall athletic performance during the 2008-09 school year.

The Commissioner's Cup is presented to the league member with the best cumulative finishes in the 18 men's and women's sports sponsored by America's oldest collegiate conference.  The NCAA Division III affiliated conference consists of nine schools -- Adrian, Albion, Alma, Calvin, Hope, Kalamazoo, Olivet, Saint Mary's and Trine.

It marks the ninth consecutive year that Hope has won or share the honor and the 24th time since 1980.

Hope also finished first in the MIAA men's and women's all-sports standings. It marks the fifth time in 11 years that Hope has led both categories in the same school year.

A year ago Hope and rival Calvin shared the Commissioner's Cup, a first in the 71-year history of the award. This year Hope's margin of victory over second place Calvin was 11 points.

In the men's all-sports standings Hope edged Calvin 94-93 while in the women's all-sports standings the margin was 10 points (114-104) in Hope's favor.

Hope crowned MIAA champions in four sports -- volleyball, men's swimming & diving, women's basketball and women's tennis. The Flying Dutchmen and Flying Dutch displayed amazing competitiveness with no team in any of the 18 sports finishing lower than fourth place.

The Commissioner's Cup has been presented since 1934-35.  Hope has won the award a record 31 times, followed by Albion 14, Kalamazoo 13, Calvin 9 and Alma 5.

08-09 Commissioner's Cup Standings:  1. Hope 208, 2. Calvin 197, 3. Albion 138, 4. Adrian 109, 5. Olivet 104, 6. Alma 97, 7. Trine 94, 8. Kalamazoo 91.

08-09 Men's All-Sports Standings: 1. Hope 94, 2. Calvin 93, 3. Albion 66, 4. Adrian 58, 5. Olivet 54, 6. Trine 50, 7. Kalamazoo 42, 8. Alma 31.

08-09 Women's All-Sports Standings: 1. Hope 114, 2. Calvin 104, 3. Saint Mary's 74, 4. Albion 72, 5. Alma 66, 6. Adrian 51, 7. Olivet 50, 8. Kalamazoo 49, 9. Trine 44.

Hope's 08-09 MIAA Finishes by Sport
Women's Basketball, 1st place
Men's Swimming & Diving, 1st place
Women's Tennis, 1st place
Volleyball, 1st place
Men's Basketball, 2nd place
Men's Cross Country, 2nd place
Women's Cross Country, 2nd place
Men's Golf, 2nd place
Men's Soccer, 2nd place
Women's Swimming & Diving, 2nd place
Men's Tennis, 2nd place (tie)
Men's Track & Field, 2nd place
Women's Track & Field, 2nd place
Baseball, 3rd place (tie)
Women's Golf, 3rd place
Women's Soccer, 3rd place
Football, 3rd place (tie)
Softball, 4th place