* During the month of July, www.EIUpanthers.com will take a look back at the Top 13 moments that shaped the 2009-10 school year. Stories will be posted each Monday, Wednesday and Friday of July *
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Eastern Illinois capped its 2010 season in Nashville as athletic director Barbara Burke was on hand as the Panthers won the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioners Cup for the school year. The award which is a symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships was won by EIU in only its second year in existence. The Panthers scored 100.5 points to win by seven points over second place Murray State.
During the course of the year Eastern Illinois sports teams helped catapult the Panthers overall athletic department to the championship. The surge started in the fall as the EIU football team won its fifth OVC Championship since 2000 with head coach Bob Spoo being named the OVC Coach of the Year.
The momentum continued into the winter as EIU track and field swept the men's and women's indoor track championships giving them titles in back-to-back years. Head coach Tom Akers was named the OVC Coach of the Year for both teams as Darren Patterson was named the Male Athlete of the Championships and Kandace Arnold the Female Athlete of the Championships.
In late February the EIU women's basketball team broke through to win the program's first OVC Championship after finishing in second place the previous two seasons. EIU would make an appearance in the OVC Championship game for the third straight season and participate in the Women's Post Season NIT. Freshman Ta'Kenya Nixon was named the OVC Freshman of the Year.
The spring continued with two more championships as Akers again swept OVC Coach of the Year honors with the men and women sweeping the OVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Zye Boey was the Male Athlete of the Championships while Arnold was again the Female Athlete of the Championships. She would go on to be named the OVC Female Athlete of the Year.
All told EIU had 12 of its 17 teams that compete in the Ohio Valley Conference place 5th or better in their respective sport.
Prior to the Commissioner's Cup being instituted in 2008-09, the Panthers had won three Men's All-Sport Championships (2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03) and one Women's All-Sport Championships (2001-02).
"Eastern Illinois athletics is very honored to win the second annual Commissioner's Cup," said Barbara Burke, Eastern Illinois Director of Athletics. "This is a great tribute to the student-athletes, coaches and staff of EIU and shows that Panther athletics is having success across the spectrum of its athletic department. I wish to congratulate all of our teams on this achievement especially the six teams that were able to win OVC regular-season championships."
