HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Charleston Southern athletics earned its best finish in over 20 years in the annual Sasser Cup standings with a third-place result, as announced by the Big South as part of its awards banquet Wednesday night during Spring Meetings in Hilton Head Island. The Buccaneers accumulated an average of 8.64 points for their best placement among league peers since 1999-2000.

"What a great accomplishment for our department and we couldn't have done it without each of our student-athletes, coaches and staff," director of athletics Jeff Barber said. "Thank you to them for their contributions that have allowed us to reach our competitive goal of finishing in the top three in the conference."

HOW THE POINTS ARE CONFIGURED
The Sasser Cup standings are determined by an overall average of the average points received in each sport, divided by the number of conference championship sports sponsored by the institution. Teams selected for at-large NCAA berths receive one bonus point added to their average in that sport. The Big South has used this formula since 2014-15.

THREE IN THE NCAAS
Leading the cause for the Buccaneers in 2021-22 was three teams which captured conference titles and reached the NCAAs, including men's cross country, women's tennis and men's golf. It was the second-straight crown for men's cross country and women's tennis.

BEST EVER IN THE MEN'S STANDINGS
The two men's championships helped lift CSU to third place in the men's standings, its best since the league started presenting separate awards by gender in 2003-04. The Bucs were also in third in 2019-20 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, resulting in a cancelation of the final standings.

In 2021-22, the Buccaneers men's teams averaged 9.39 points, less than one point behind first-place Campbell. Cross country and golf both brought in 13 points, while baseball was next with 9.5 after its run to the league tournament championship. Other strong sports included indoor track and field and outdoor track and field with nine points apiece, while football had 8.5 points.

NEAR TOP-THREE ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
A difference of .01 average points kept Charleston Southern from placing in the top three in the women's standings, a hair shy of catching Longwood in the pursuit of High Point. Tennis grabbed the most points with 13, while cross country factored in 10, golf had 9.5, outdoor track and field had nine and indoor track and field and softball each tallied eight to the team average.

The fourth-place ranking and average of 8.06 on the women's side is the best for the Bucs since also placing fourth in 2018-19. It matches CSU's highest finish since the separate gender awards were introduced in 2003-04, also landing there in 2009-10 and 2016-17.

FINAL 2021-22 SASSER CUP STANDINGS
1. High Point, 10.28
2. Campbell, 10.21
3. Charleston Southern, 8.64
4. Longwood, 7.48
5. USC Upstate, 7.15
6. North Carolina A&T, 7.13
7. UNC Asheville, 7.00
8. Gardner-Webb, 6.84
9. Radford, 6.53
10. Winthrop, 5.69
11. Hampton, 5.18
12. Presbyterian, 4.96

FINAL 2021-22 MEN'S ALL-SPORTS STANDINGS
1. Campbell, 9.94
2. High Point, 9.43
3. Charleston Southern, 9.39
4. USC Upstate, 7.68
5. North Carolina A&T, 7.13
6. Winthrop, 7.04
7. Gardner-Webb, 7.00
8. UNC Asheville, 6.96
9. Radford, 6.83
10. Longwood, 6.79
T11. Presbyterian, 5.04
T11. Hampton, 5.04

FINAL 2021-22 WOMEN'S ALL-SPORTS STANDINGS
1. High Point, 11.03
2. Campbell, 10.45
3. Longwood, 8.07
4. Charleston Southern, 8.06
5. North Carolina A&T, 7.13
6. UNC Asheville, 7.03
7. Gardner-Webb, 6.70
8. USC Upstate, 6.69
9. Radford, 6.35
10. Hampton, 5.28
11. Presbyterian, 4.91
12. Winthrop, 4.64