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2 0 1 9 P A C - 1 2 S O F T B A L L M E D I A G U I D E 3 P A C - 1 2 C O N F E R E N C E BUILT ON A FIRM FOUNDATION of academic excellence and superior athletic performance, the Pac-12 Conference re- newed its undisputed claim as the Conference of Cham- pions® in 2016-17, be- coming the first conference to win 500 NCAA Champi- onships. Beyond the court's and fields, the Pac-12's accomplishments extend into the classrooms across 12 campuses, and out- side its traditional geographic footprint into new cor- ners around the world. En route to becoming the first conference to win 500 NCAA Championships, the Pac-12 led the nation in 2016-17 with 13 NCAA crowns. This haul adds to the an incredible 158 NCAA team titles since 1999-2000 and 300 since 1981-82, the start of women's sports sponsorship, an average of over nine per year. Even more impressive has been the breadth of the Pac-12's success with champion- ships coming in 29 different men's and women's sports. The Pac-12 has led or tied the nation in NCAA Championships in 51 of the last 57 years, the only exceptions being in 1980-81, 1988-89, 1990- 91 and 1995-96 when the Conference finished sec- ond, and only twice finished third in 1998-99 and 2004-05. For the 12th-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 nine times, including a record 14 in 1996-97. Spanning over a century of outstanding ath- letics achievements, The Pac-12 has claimed 501 NCAA Championships (297 men's, 174 women's, 30 combined), nearly 200 more than the next league. It was also the first to win 400 champion- ships then surpassed 450 when Colorado and Utah joined the league in 2010-11. Pac-12 members have won 297 NCAA team championships on the men's side, 81 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, 54 tennis titles, 47 outdoor track & field crowns, and 28 baseball titles. Pac-12 members have won 25 of 47 NCAA titles in volleyball, 43 of 48 in water polo, 30 in skiing, and 24 in swimming & diving national championships. Individually, the Conference has produced an impressive number of NCAA individual champions. Over 2,000 (2,292) individual crowns have been won by Pac-12 student-athletes over the years with 1,358 by male student-athletes. Student-athletes have also captured 185 individual titles at combined championships (ie., skiing and fencing). On the women's side, the story is much the same. Since the NCAA began conducting women's championships 36 years ago, Pac-12 members have claimed at least four national titles in a single season on 26 occasions, including a current streak of 17-consecutive years, dating back to 2000. Over- all, the Pac-12 has captured 174 NCAA women's titles, easily outdistancing the SEC, which is second with 100. Pac-12 members have dominated a num- ber of sports, winning 23 softball titles, 23 tennis crowns, 15 volleyball titles, 18 of the last 28 trophies in golf, and 15 in swimming & diving. Pac-12 women student-athletes shine nation- ally on an individual basis, as well, having captured an unmatched 749 NCAA individual crowns, an av- erage of over 20 championships per season, includ- ing 30 in 2016-17. The Pac-12's excellence is further proven in the annual Division I Learfield Sports Directors' Cup competition, the prestigious award that hon- ors the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. STANFORD won an unprecedented 23rd-consecutive Directors' Cup in 2016-17 to lead the Conference. Five Pac-12 member institutions ranked among the top-15 Division I programs, and a remarkable six institutions were in the top 20: No. 1 STANFORD, No. 3 USC, No. 8 OREGON, No. 9 UCLA, No. 12 CALIFORNIA and No. 20 WASHING- TON. At least five member institutions have been ranked in the top 20 in all but one year of the Direc- tor's Cup program, with seven appearing in the top 20 on five different occasions (1998, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006). 2017-18 REVIEW The Conference's 12 NCAA titles came in the form of nine women's and three men's crowns. Six members claimed at least one NCAA title and, of the five institutions in the country to have won multiples titles, three were from the Pac-12. STANFORD's four NCAA titles this year are the most won by any school, extending its streak of winning an NCAA title to 42 years, winning a third-straight championship in men's soccer, claim- ing women's swimming and diving for the second- straight year in record fashion, winning an All-Pac-12 final in women's soccer and the women's tennis crown for the second time in three years. UCLA claimed three national titles, winning the women's gymnastics crown for the first time since 2010 on a pair of perfect 10s, its first-ever beach volleyball title and its third men's water polo crown in four years. A playoff putt sealed the women's golf crown for ARIZONA, its first since 2000; CALIFORNIA won its second rowing national championship in three years; and USC won its fifth women's water polo title, winning a tense All-Pac-12 finale. OREGON STATE fought off six elimination games to win the baseball title, its third all-time and first in over a decade. In addition to the 12 national championships, the Pac-12 also had runners-up in 10 NCAA Cham- pionship events: women's soccer (UCLA), men's water polo (USC), skiing (COLORADO), men's swim- ming and diving (CALIFORNIA), women's swimming and diving (CALIFORNIA), men's indoor track & field (USC), softball (WASHINGTON), rowing (WASHING- TON), men's volleyball (UCLA) and women's water polo (STANFORD). In 11 sports, there were at least two teams among the final four and 39 teams fin- ished in the top four at 23 NCAA Championship events, including all-Pac-12 finals in women's soc- cer, men's water polo and women's water polo. Participation in the postseason was a common occurrence for the Pac-12 in 2017-18. Of the 24 sports sponsored by the Conference, 17 witnessed at least half its teams participating in NCAA or other postseason action. The men sent 63 of a possible 101 teams into the postseason (62.4 percent), while the women sent 82 of a possible 130 teams (63.0 percent). USC became the first South Division team to capture the Pac-12 football title. After the North Division won the Conference's first six Pac-12 Foot- ball Championship Games, the Trojans ended the North Division streak with a 31-28 win over Stanford to claim their 39th conference crown. The Pac-12 placed nine teams in bowl games, including a pair of teams in the CFP with USC in the Cotton Bowl and WASHINGTON in the Fiesta Bowl. STANFORD running back Bryce Love became the fifth player in Pac-12 history to rush for 2,000 yards (2,118) and was named the Doak Walker Award winner as the nation's top running back. ARIZONA's Khalil Tate be- came the first quarterback in Pac-12 history to rush for 1,000 yards (1,411 yards) and set an FBS sin- gle-game rushing record by a quarterback with 327 yards vs. Colorado. USC's Sam Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the New York Jets, while UCLA's Josh Rosen was the No. 10 selection overall by the Arizona Cardinals. It marked the third time in Conference history that two Pac-12 quarter- backs were selected in the first round, and the sixth time ever that multiple quarterbacks from the same conference were selected in the first round. Pac-12 men's basketball sent eight teams to postseason play for the fourth time in the past six seasons, with three teams - ARIZONA, ARIZONA STATE and UCLA - selected for the NCAA Tourna- ment and a league-record five chosen to the NIT. All five NIT teams - OREGON, STANFORD, USC, UTAH and WASHINGTON - won their opening round games, and the Utes enjoyed the deepest postsea- son run of any Conference team, advancing to New York City and Madison Square Garden where they defeated Western Kentucky in the NIT semifinals before falling to Penn State in the title game. Seven Pac-12 teams reached the 20-win plateau, equaling the most-ever for the league, highlighted by regular- season and tournament champion Arizona's 27-win campaign. Pac-12 women's basketball has enjoyed histor- ic performances over the last four years, establishing the Conference as a premier league in the sport. Six teams earned NCAA Tournament bids, marking the fifth-consecutive year at least five teams garnered bids. Four teams advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the third-consecutive year and a record- tying three teams were in the NCAA Elite Eight. It was the second time in three years that at least that many teams advanced that far. OREGON won its first Pac- 12 regular-season title since 1999-2000 and first- ever Pac-12 Tournament crown. The Ducks earned their highest NCAA Tournament seed, garnering the No. 2 seed in the Spokane Regional. ARIZONA STATE, CALIFORNIA, OREGON STATE, STANFORD and UCLA joined UO in the "Big Dance," with UTAH earning a bid in the WNIT. For the first time in Pac- 12 history, three teams were ranked in the final top-25 of the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll, the Ducks finishing with their highest-ever final ranking at No. 5. UCLA was at No. 7, OREGON STATE was No. 8 and STANFORD was No. 13, appearing in the final poll for the 17th-consecutive year. Four teams also appeared in the final Associated Press poll, the fourth-straight year the Conference had at least four teams in the final ranking. The Pac-12 boasts the most NCAA Tournament wins of any conference in the country over the last three years (41) and the best winning percentage among peer leagues (.695). STANFORD won its 17th all-time Pac-12 women's volleyball title, advancing to its 21st all- time NCAA semifinal in 2017. The Cardinal head- lined nine league teams to earn NCAA Tournament bids, marking the fourth time in the last five years at least eight Conference teams participated in the postseason event. Along with Stanford, COLORADO, OREGON, OREGON STATE, UCLA, USC, UTAH, WASHINGTON and WASHINGTON STATE punched their tickets to the tournament. Eleven student-ath- letes were selected AVCA All-Americans, with seven of those being sophomores or juniors on the first or second teams. Six teams appeared in the final AVCA Coaches poll, five of them in the top 15. The Pac-12 has won a NCAA-record 15 of the 37 NCAA titles awarded. OREGON STATE baseball recorded the Pac- 12's 12th and final NCAA title of the 2017-18