PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Little East Conference (LEC) Commissioner Albert D. Bean, Jr. announced that Eastern Connecticut State University claimed the Commissioner’s Cup for the 2025-26 academic year Friday at the LEC’s annual spring Athletic Directors Council meetings. 

The Warriors won the Conference’s top honor for overall institutional athletic performance among its nine primary member institutions by the narrowest margin in the award’s history, just one-hundredth of a point. The top-three institutions were separated by just one-tenth of a point. 

“Congratulations to the Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State University on winning the Little East Conference Commissioner's Cup for the seventh time since the inception of the award,” said Bean. “My sincere congratulations to President Karim Ismaili, Athletic Director Lori Runksmeier and most certainly to the Eastern student-athletes, coaches and staff that supported the Warriors throughout the entirety of the 2025-2026 season. This was an incredible season in the Little East Conference and certainly a highly competitive battle for top honors. The results clearly reveal the competitiveness of our membership in competition.”

Consistency proved to be the key to Eastern Connecticut winning the LEC Commissioner’s Cup, with just one of the Warriors’ 20 conference programs earning less than fifth-place points. They earned first-place points in field hockey, women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s swimming & diving, while picking up second-place points in men’s golf, and securing outright or sharing third-place points in baseball, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, softball, women’s indoor track & field and men’s outdoor track & field. 

“This is a proud moment for Eastern and for Warrior Athletics,” said Karim Ismaili, President of Eastern Connecticut State University. “Winning the Little East Commissioner’s Cup reflects the sustained excellence of our athletics program and the remarkable dedication of the students, coaches and staff who represent Eastern with such distinction. I am especially pleased that this honor comes as a fitting capstone to Lori Runksmeier’s extraordinary career at Eastern. Lori’s leadership has elevated Warrior Athletics in every respect, and this Commissioner’s Cup is a meaningful tribute to the culture she has helped build.”

“More than in any other year, every athlete, every coach, every win or place earned in a championship made the difference that led the Warriors to this achievement,” said Lori Runksmeier, Director of Athletics at Eastern Connecticut State University. “I believe the institutions in the Little East Conference represent the best of Division III as it pertains to striving for the best student-athlete experience in all areas, and I’m proud we can achieve this in a tough league.”

The University of Southern Maine finished second in the final LEC Commissioner’s Cup standings. The Huskies swept the women’s track & field titles, repeated as men’s golf champion, and claimed the baseball and women’s basketball regular season championships. USM additionally earned second-place points in women’s golf, men’s and women’s ice hockey, and women’s lacrosse.

Finishing a close third was Keene State College, which had won each of the previous two LEC Commissioner’s Cups. The Owls were the top-scoring institution in baseball (tying with USM), men’s cross country, women’s golf and men’s indoor track & field, while picking up second-place points in women’s cross country, field hockey, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field. 

For sports in which the LEC conducts in-season play (baseball, basketball, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball), points are determined by the ranked order of finish in the final regular season standings. For sports that do not conduct in-season play (cross country, golf, swimming & diving, track & field), points are awarded based on the order of finish at the LEC championship meet.

Keene State won the LEC Commissioner’s Cup in each of the first 16 years it was presented, a run that started in 2000-01, and owns a league-record 18 LEC Commissioner’s Cup wins. Eastern Connecticut is the only other intuition to win the LEC Commissioner’s Cup, winning the award for six consecutive years from 2016-17 through 2022-23.

Final 2025-26 LEC Commissioner's Cup Standings
1. Eastern Connecticut - 6.83
2. Southern Maine - 6.82
3. Keene State - 6.73
4. UMass Boston - 5.82
5. UMass Dartmouth - 5.53
6. Rhode Island College - 5.05
7. Plymouth State - 4.88
8. Western Connecticut - 4.29
9. Vermont State Castleton - 3.24