By Gavin Claiborne, April 15, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona Athletics gained national recognition for its performances during the winter and fall seasons as the department ranked as a top-25 program in the Learfield Director’s Cup while remaining in first place in the updated Robert J. Hiegert Commissioner’s Cup April 3.
The Learfield Director’s Cup, which is released annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, recognizes several successful athletic programs throughout different divisions using a point-based system.
The Broncos, according to the Division II standings, earned 337 total points for both the winter and fall seasons, which was good enough to put the department in the 18th spot on the cup’s list.
The Broncos also own the highest ranking in the cup among other programs in the California Collegiate Athletic Association conference, with Cal State Dominguez Hills earning the second-highest conference ranking at 41st place.
According to the standings, the teams that contributed to the Broncos’ ranking the most during the winter season were women’s basketball and women’s track and field, securing 70 points cumulatively.
The Broncos’ highest ranking in the Learfield Director’s Cup, according to the department’s site, was in 2023, when the department recorded 386.5 total points and was also the highest-ranked CCAA-affiliated university.
Alex Kline, the assistant athletics director of communications for CPP Athletics, said the department is having a “very special year,” and many of the year’s moments — women’s soccer clinching the national title, men and women’s basketball both making the playoffs, women’s track and field athlete Neshara Smith earning a spot in an NCAA invitational — were pivotal in the department’s ranking.
“It’s just been a really special experience to be a part of with so much winning all happening at the same time,” Kline said. “It’s pretty rare that everything clicks in the same year.”
The Robert J. Hiegert Commissioner’s Cup, similar to the Learfield Director’s Cup, recognizes programs on a point-based system, but it’s CCAA-exclusive. The cup’s updated standings, which were also announced April 3, recognized the Broncos as the top program in the conference with 73.03 points, followed by Chico State at second place with 63.25 points and Stanislaus State trailing third with 49.15 points.
According to an announcement issued by the CCAA, the teams most impactful in the Broncos’ ranking include the women’s soccer team, which won the 2024 CCAA Tournament and the conference title; the volleyball team, which took home the regular season title last fall; and the men’s soccer team, which became co-champions of the CCAA Tournament alongside Cal State Dominguez Hills.
“No Broncos’ team has finished below fourth place, and they have already collected three CCAA regular-season championships and a tournament title,” the announcement stated in its profile description for CPP.
Kline said taking the No. 1 spot in the Commissioner’s Cup became a reality due in large part to the coaching and administrative staff fostered from the department, adding Brian Swanson, the director of intercollegiate athletics for CPP Athletics, has done an “incredible job” of developing the department for the past 20 years.
Kline also gave praise to the coaching staff for recruiting successful student-athletes.
“It’s really just a testament to the culture that’s been created in our department and how hard everyone works to maintain that winning culture,” Kline said.
CPP men’s basketball head coach Greg Kamansky said he connects with the coaching staff from all sports throughout the year, whether it be to discuss administrative-related topics or for simple camaraderie.
One of the department’s goals for the upcoming school year, according to Kline, is to improve the student-athlete experience at CPP, including in their academics, athletics and in their personal lives.
“The winning is really just a byproduct of making sure we have that culture of success,” Kline said. “So, I think our goal next year would be to continue the momentum we’ve gained the past few years. … Everyone’s clicking on the same cylinder because we’re all on the same team.”
Kamansky said the biggest part of his job — and what keeps him inspired as a coach season after season — isn’t just molding his student-athletes into great basketball players, but also leaders.
“I want these guys to be confident young men when they graduate,” Kamansky said. “Whether they pursue basketball, whether they pursue business, whatever they want, we just make them as confident men as much as we can, and we try to show them through basketball, a little bit, the right way to do it.”
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics
