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4 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 P A C - 1 2 C O N F E R E N C E campaign, the Beavers winning the last two of the three-game championship series versus Arkansas to claim their third all-time College World Series title and first since 2007. The Beavers had their backs against the wall since losing their opening game of the CWS, winning four-straight elimination games to get to the championship series, before winning two more versus Arkansas to claim the crown. STAN- FORD claimed the Pac-12 crown for the first time in 15 years and received the Conference's automatic bid as four league squads earned berths. UCLA and WASHINGTON rounded out the four postseason teams, the Huskies advancing for the first time ever to the CWS as well. The Pac-12 has, by far, won the most baseball national titles of any conference in the country, claiming 29 titles dating back to 1947. The Pac-12 Conference has historically domi- nated the sport of softball where league teams have claimed 23 NCAA titles in the 37-year history of the championship. Pac-12 teams captured an unprec- edented nine in a row from 1988-1997, then most recently claimed six-straight from 2006-11. OR- EGON picked up its fourth Pac-12 title in six years and seven league teams earned berths to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, marking the 23rd-consecutive year the Conference has had five or more teams ad- vance to the postseason and has had at least three berths every year since the league began sponsoring the sport in 1987. Half of the eight-team Women's College World Series field was comprised of Pac-12 teams, with WASHINGTON, ARIZONA STATE, OR- EGON and UCLA advancing that far. The Huskies played in the championship series, marking the 29th time at least one Pac-12 team reached the finale. PAC-12 CONFERENCE HISTORY The roots of the Pac-12 Conference date back more than 100 years, to December 2, 1915, when the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was founded at a meeting at the Imperial Hotel in Portland, Ore. The original membership consisted of four schools - the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University). All four are still charter members of the Conference. Pacific Coast Conference play began in 1916 and, one year later, Washington State College (now Washington State University) was accepted into the league, with Stanford University following in 1918. In 1922, the PCC expanded to eight teams with the admission of the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of Idaho. In 1924, the Uni- versity of Montana joined the league roster and in 1928, the PCC grew to 10 members with the addi- tion of UCLA. The Pacific Coast Conference competed as a 10-member league until 1950, with the exception of 1943-45 when World War II curtailed intercollegiate athletic competition to a minimum. During that time, the league's first commissioner was named. Edwin N. Atherton was Commissioner in 1940 and was succeeded by Victor O. Schmidt in 1944. In 1950, Montana resigned from the Conference and the PCC continued as a nine-team Conference through 1958. In 1959, the PCC was dissolved and the Ath- letic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) was formed with Thomas J. Hamilton was appointed Commissioner of the new league. The original AAWU membership included California, Stanford, USC, UCLA, and Washington. Washington State joined the membership in 1962, while Oregon and Oregon State joined in 1964. Under Hamilton's watch, the name Pacific-8 Conference was adopted in 1968. In 1971, Wiles Hallock took over as Commissioner of the Pac-8. Ten years later, on July 1, 1978, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University were admit- ted to the league and the Pacific-10 Conference became a reality. In 1986-87, the league took on a new look, expanding to include 10 women's sports. Since then, the Conference has been considered the premier league in women's athletics, securing the most NCAA titles in women's sports of any con- ference nearly every year. Thomas C. Hansen was named the Commis- sioner of the Pac-10 in 1983, a role he would hold for 26 years until 2009, when he was succeeded by current Commissioner Larry Scott. The University of Colorado accepted its invita- tion to join the Pac-12 on June 11, 2010, and on June 17, 2010, the University of Utah agreed to join the Conference. The Buffaloes and Utes officially became the 11th and 12th members of the Con- ference on July 1, 2011, the first additions to the league since 1978. It was during the 2010-11 academic year that Scott helped deliver monumental changes that transformed the Conference into a modern 12-team league. In addition to expanding to 12 teams, mem- ber institutions agreed to equal revenue sharing for the first time in the Conference's history, created two football divisions - the North and the South, and established a Football Championship Game for the first time. He also secured landmark media rights deals with ESPN and FOX that dramatically increased national exposure and revenue for each school, in addition to establishing Pac-12 Networks which guaranteed enhanced exposure across all sports. Currently, the Pac-12 sponsors 11 men's sports and 13 women's sports, with women's la- crosse a new addition for the 2017-18 academic year and beach volleyball having been added in 2015-16. Additionally, the Conference is a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) in four other men's sports and two women's sports. The Pac-12 Conference offices are located in the heart of San Francisco in the SOMA district. LEARFIELD SPORTS DIRECTORS' CUP The STANFORD Cardinal captured their 24th-consecutive Directors' Cup with UCLA and USC finishing second and fourth, respectively, in lead- ing the Pac-12 Conference to another impressive finish in the final 2017- 18 Division I Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings, the National Asso- ciation of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced. Led by four NCAA titles (women's soccer, men's soccer, women's swim- ming and diving, women's tennis), Stanford won its 24th-consecutive Cup. In all, the Cardinal posted 12 top four finishes in tallying an impressive 1,442.00 points. Behind three NCAA titles (men's water polo, women's gymnastics, beach volleyball), UCLA finished second for the eighth time in the history of the Directors' Cup with 1,326.00 points, its highest-ever point total. USC posted a pair of national titles (women's water polo, women's outdoor track & field) to place fourth with 1,147.00 points for its fourth-straight top-4 finish. CALIFORNIA placed 20th overall with 830.25 points, aided by a national title in women's rowing, to claim its 19th consecutive top-20 fin- ish. OREGON recorded its seventh-straight top-25 finish, coming in 24th with 786.75 points. WASHINGTON was 29th (693.25 points), followed by ARIZONA STATE in 31st (686.00), then COLORADO in 37th (591.50). ARIZONA captured its third NCAA women's golf title and placed 51st (472.50). OREGON STATE, which picked up its third NCAA baseball title, finished 61st (383.00), just half a point ahead of UTAH in 62nd (382.50). WASHINGTON STATE rounded out the team scoring for the Pac-12, finish- ing 80th (260.50) for its best placing since 2010. The success of the Pac-12 in the Directors' Cup was bolstered by the capturing of 12 NCAA titles, most among all conferences. In addition, nine Pac-12 league members combined to post 39 top-four finishes in 24 NCAA championships.. The Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's. CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN Conference* Top 25 Membership Schools Ratio 1. SEC (14) 7 .500 2. Pac-12 (12) 5 .417 3. ACC (15) 6 .400 4. Big Ten (14) 5 .357 5. Big 12 (10) 2 .200 * based on 2017-18 membership WHERE THEY RANKED School Total Pts 1. Stanford 1442.00 2. UCLA 1326.00 4. USC 1147.00 20. California 830.25 24. Oregon 786.75 29. Washington 693.25 31. Arizona State 686.00 37. Colorado 591.50 51. Arizona 472.50 61. Oregon State 383.00 62. Utah 382.50 80. Washington State 260.50