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4 2015 PAC-12 FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE // PREVIEW PAC-12 CONFERENCE BUILT ON A FIRM FOUNDATION of academic excellence and supe- rior athletic performance, the Conference ushered in a new era on July 1, 2011, of!cially becoming 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, Com- missioner 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 forefront of collegiate athletics. The Networks, in- cluding one national network, six regional networks, and a robust digi- tal network marked the !rst-ever integrated media company owned by a college conference. In addition, the "TV Everywhere" rights allow fans to access Pac-12 Networks outside the home on any digital de- vice, including smartphones and tablet computers. That same year, the Pac-12 also launched its Globalization Initia- tive to proactively promote the Conference and member institutions through student-athlete exchanges and sport. In the !rst four years, Pac-12 student-athletes have enjoyed unique cultural and athletic ex- periences in China, !elding full university 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 be- tween WASHINGTON and Texas to tip off the 2015-16 campaign. The Conference and its member schools have gained signi!cant brand ex- posure for the future and set a foundation for growth. On the !eld, the Pac-12 rises above the rest, upholding its tra- dition 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 championships 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 conference by nearly 200. In all, Confer- ence teams have won 478 NCAA Championships (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 baseball 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 (2,208) individual crowns have been won by Pac-12 student-athletes over the years with 1,333 by male student-athletes. Student-athletes have also captured 174 in- dividual 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 34 years ago, Pac-12 members have claimed at least four national titles in a single season on 25 occasions, including 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 mem- bers 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 701 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 coun- try. 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 Division 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 con- ference 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 de- fended 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 national 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, tak- ing home its second-straight men's cross country crown in dominating fashion, 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 championship 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 runners-up in 11 NCAA Championship events: men's cross coun- try (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), women'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, including 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 OR- EGON 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 re- cord 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