Pac-12 Conference

CONFERENCE OF CHAMPIONS® 2 // 2014-15 PAC-12 YEAR IN REVIEW Built on a !rm foundation of academic excellence and superior athletic per- formance, the Conference ushered in a new era on July 1, 2011, of!cially be- coming the Pac-12 Conference with the additions of the University of Colorado and University of Utah. Just 27 days after the Conference of!cially changed its name, Commissioner Larry Scott announced the creation of the Pac-12 Networks on July 27, 2011, solidifying a landmark television deal and putting the Conference on the fore- front of collegiate athletics. The Networks, including one national network, six regional networks, and a robust digital network marked the !rst-ever integrated media company owned by a college conference. In addition, the "TV Every- where" rights allow fans to access Pac-12 Networks outside the home on any digital device, including smartphones and tablet computers. That same year, the Pac-12 also launched its Globalization Initiative to pro- actively promote the Conference and member institutions through student-ath- lete exchanges and sport. In the !rst four years, Pac-12 student-athletes have enjoyed unique cultural and athletic experiences in China, !elding full univer- sity and Pac-12 all-star teams in women's volleyball and men's basketball, with the !rst-ever men's basketball regular season game schedule to be played in China between WASHINGTON and Texas to tip off the 2015-16 campaign. The Conference and its member schools have gained signi!cant brand exposure for the future and set a foundation for growth. On the !eld, the Pac-12 rises above the rest, upholding its tradition as the "Conference of Champions ®," claiming an incredible 140 NCAA team titles since 1999-2000, including nine in 2014-15, an average of nearly nine cham- pionships per academic year. Even more impressive has been the breadth of the Pac-12's success, with championships coming in 28 different men's and women's sports. The Pac-12 has led or tied the nation in NCAA Championships in 49 of the last 55 years, the only exceptions being in 1980-81, 1988-89, 1990-91 and 1995-96 when the Conference !nished second, and only twice !nished third in 1998-99 and 2004-05. For the 10th-consecutive year, the Pac-12 had the most or tied for the most NCAA titles of any conference in the country, winning at least six every year since 2000-01. No other conference has won double-digit NCAA crowns in a single year, the Pac-12 doing so seven times, including a record 14 in 1996-97. Spanning nearly a century of outstanding athletics achievements, the Pac- 12 was the !rst conference to reach 400 championships in 2010-11. With the inclusion of Colorado and Utah, the Conference surpassed another major milestone, with league teams capturing 450 titles, outdistancing the next con- ference by nearly 200. In all, Conference teams have won 478 NCAA Champi- onships (291 men's, 158 women's, 29 combined). Pac-12 members have won 291 NCAA team championships on the men's side, 77 more than the next closest conference. Men's NCAA crowns have come at a phenomenal rate for the Pac-12 - 16 basketball titles by six schools (more than any other conference), 54 tennis titles, 47 outdoor track & !eld crowns, and 28 base- ball titles. Pac-12 members have won 25 of 46 NCAA titles in volleyball, 41 of 46 in water polo, 29 in skiing, and 24 in swimming & diving national championships. Individually, the Conference has produced an impressive number of NCAA individual champions. Over 2,000 (2,211) individual crowns have been won by Pac-12 student-athletes over the years with 1,334 by male student-athletes. Student-athletes have also captured 175 individual titles at combined champi- onships (ie., skiing and fencing). On the women's side, the story is much the same. Since the NCAA be- gan conducting women's championships 34 years ago, Pac-12 members have claimed at least four national titles in a single season on 25 occasions, includ- ing 15-consecutive years from 2000-2015. Overall, the Pac-12 has captured 158 NCAA women's titles, easily outdistancing the SEC, which is second with 97. Pac-12 members have dominated a number of sports, winning 23 softball titles, 21 tennis crowns, 14 volleyball titles, 16 of the last 26 trophies in golf, and 14 in swimming & diving. Pac-12 women student-athletes shine nationally on an individual basis, as well, having captured an unmatched 702 NCAA individual crowns, an average of nearly 21 championships per season. The Pac-12's excellence is further proven in the annual Division I Lear!eld Sports Directors' Cup competition, the prestigious award that honors the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. STANFORD continued its remarkable run and won a remarkable 21st-consecutive Directors' Cup in 2014-15 leading the Pac-12 to an unprecedented 1-2-3 !nish in the !nal standings. Seven Pac-12 member institutions ranked among the top-30 Divi- sion I programs, tying for the most of any conference, and !ve were in the top 15: No. 1 STANFORD, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 USC, No. 12 CALIFORNIA and No. 13 OREGON. At least !ve member institutions have been ranked in the top 20 in all but one year of the Director's Cup program, with seven appearing in the top 20 on !ve different occasions (1998, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006). 2014-15 REVIEW The Conference's nine NCAA titles came in the form of four men's and four women's, and one combined team title. Five different league schools claimed NCAA titles and, of the seven NCAA institutions to have won multiples titles, three were from the Pac-12. No other conference in the country had more than one team win multiple NCAA titles. OREGON was one of only two programs in the country to win three NCAA titles this academic season. The Ducks successfully defended its indoor and outdoor NCAA Track & Field titles, and also won the women's outdoor crown for the !rst time in 30 years. It is the second straight year UO has won three na- tional titles in an academic year. COLORADO and STANFORD each claimed a pair of titles, as well. The Buffaloes claimed the academic year's !rst NCAA title, taking home its second-straight men's cross country crown in dominating fash- ion, posting a 33-point margin of victory. Colorado then grabbed the hardware in skiing, their third in !ve years. STANFORD extended its streak of winning NCAA Championships to 39 years, winning the women's water polo champion- ship for a second-straight year and the program's !rst-ever women's golf crown. In addition to the nine national championships, the Pac-12 also had run- ners-up in 11 NCAA Championship events: men's cross country (STANFORD), men's soccer (UCLA), men's water polo (USC), women's gymnastics (UTAH), men's gymnastics (STANFORD), men's swimming (CALIFORNIA), women's indoor track & !eld (OREGON), men's golf (USC), rowing (CALIFORNIA), wom- en's tennis (UCLA) and women's water polo (UCLA). Overall, the Conference had 31 teams !nish in the top four at 19 NCAA Championship events, includ- ing an all-Pac-12 women's water polo !nal four. Participation in the postseason was a common occurrence for the Pac-12 in 2014-15. Of the 22 sports sponsored by the Conference, 20 witnessed at least half its teams participating in NCAA or other postseason action. The men sent 67 of a possible 97 teams into the postseason (69.1 percent), while the women sent 79 of a possible 115 teams (68.7 percent). Eight Pac-12 teams earned bowl bids with Pac-12 Champion OREGON reaching the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship Game. League teams produced a 6-3 record, equaling the record for wins achieved in 2013 when the Conference had a league-record eight teams play in bowl games for the second-straight year. Despite losing in the title game, the Ducks produced the only 13-win season on record in Pac-12 history. For the !rst time in league history, four teams won 10 or more games, while six had at least nine wins. A record-tying eight teams boasted a winning record for the third-consecutive year. UO claimed the Pac-12 crown for the second time in four years by virtue of a 51-13 win over South Division Champion ARIZONA. The Pac-12 Football Championship Game was held at a neutral site for the !rst time in the Game's brief four-year history and was played at the new Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The Wildcats went on to play in the VIZIO Fiesta Bowl. Also joining Oregon and UA in the postseason were UTAH (Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl), ARI- ZONA STATE (Hyundai Bowl), USC (National University Holiday Bowl), STAN- FORD (Foster Farms Bowl), UCLA (Valero Alamo Bowl) and WASHINGTON (TicketCity Cactus Bowl). Six Pac-12 teams appeared in the !nal Associated Press poll marking the second time in league history that six teams were in the !nal ranking. The teams in the top 25 were: Oregon (2), UCLA (10), Arizona State (12), Arizona (19), USC (20) and Utah (21). Seven Pac-12 men's basketball teams participated in the postseason with ARIZONA earning the Conference's automatic bid after winning the tournament title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the team's !rst tournament title since 2002. The Wildcats also captured their 14th regular-season crown. OREGON, UCLA and UTAH were also selected to play in the NCAA Tourna- ment. The Bruins and Utes reached the Sweet Sixteen while the Wildcats ad- vanced to the Elite Eight for the second straight year. For the second-straight year, Pac-12 teams had eight NCAA Tournament wins. ARIZONA STATE and STANFORD participated in the NIT, and the Cardinal swept through the post- season and won its third NIT crown and second in four seasons. COLORADO was a participant in the CBI. The Pac-12 women's basketball season also produced historic moments, including OREGON STATE capturing the program's !rst-ever Pac-12 regular- season title also claiming the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament at KeyAre- na in Seattle, Wash. It was the !rst time in the history of the event STANFORD was not the top seed. However, the Cardinal still went on to win its 11th Confer- ence title as the No. 3 seed overall. Five league squads earned NCAA Tourna- ment berths for the second-consecutive year, while two more participated in the WNIT with UCLA claiming its !rst-ever WNIT crown. ARIZONA STATE reached the Sweet Sixteen and CALIFORNIA and WASHINGTON also participated in the Big Dance. Four teams appeared in the !nal top-25 of the Associated Press poll: ASU (9), OSU (10), Stanford (14) and Cal (24). It marked the !rst time the Beavers were in the !nal poll since 1995-96. WASHINGTON STATE also made its second-straight postseason appearance, joining the Bruins in the WNIT. Pac-12 volleyball also had an unprecedented season with a league-record 10 teams earning NCAA Tournament berths, a year after a then-league best nine teams advanced to the tournament in 2013. Five teams received a top-16 seed as STANFORD nabbed the top seed, while all 10 won their !rst-round match. The Pac-12 also set a new league record for most teams ranked in the !nal poll with nine teams appearing in the !nal AVCA top 25. The Cardinal won its 16th Pac-12 crown and advanced to the national semi!nal for the !rst time since 2008 marking the 15th time in 17 years a Pac-12 team has advanced

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