Pac-12 Conference

PAC-12 CONFERENCE Built on a firm foundation of academic excellence and superior athletic per- formance, the Conference ushered in a new era on July 1, 2011, officially be- coming the Pac-12 Confer- ence with the additions of the University of Colorado and University of Utah. Just 27 days after the Conference officially changed its named, Commissioner Larry Scott an- nounced the creation of the Pac-12 Networks on July 27, 2011, solidifying a landmark television deal and putting the Conference on the forefront. The Networks, including one national network and six regional networks, in conjunction with four of the nation's largest cable operators, marked the first time a U.S. collegiate conference or any other programmer has launched a collection of networks across a variety of platforms, rather than a sole net- work. In addition, the "TV everywhere" rights will al- low fans to access coverage outside the home on any digital device, including smartphones and tablet computers. On the field, the Pac-12 rises above the rest, upholding its tradition as the "Conference of Cham- pions"®, claiming an incredible 119 NCAA team titles since 1999-2000, including nine in 2011-12. That is an average of over nine championships per academic year. Even more impressive has been the breadth of the Pac-12's success, with champion- ships coming in 28 different men's and women's sports. The Pac-12 has led or tied the nation in NCAA Championships in 46 of the last 52 years. The only exceptions being in 1980-81, 1988-89, 1990-91 and 1995-96 when the Conference fin- ished second, and only twice finished third (1998- 99 and 2004-05). For the seventh-consecutive year, the Pac-12 had the most NCAA titles or tied for the most of any conference in the country, winning at least six ev- ery year since 2000-01. No other conference has won double-digit NCAA crowns in a single year, the Pac-12 doing so six times, including a record 14 in 1996-97. Spanning nearly a century of outstanding ath- letics achievements, the Pac-12 was the first confer- ence 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, Conference teams have won 451 NCAA Championships (306 men's, 145 women's). The Conference's reputation is further proven in the annual Learfield Sports Directors' Cup com- petition, the prestigious award that honors the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. STANFORD continued its remarkable run and won its unprecedented 18th-consecutive Directors' Cup in 2011-12. For the second-straight year, six of the top 25 Division I programs were Pac-12 member institutions: No. 1 STANFORD, No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 USC, No. 11 CALIFORNIA, No. 19 ARIZONA and No. 24 OREGON. With three teams in the top 10, it was the most of any conference. 4 The new era of the Pac-12 Conference and 2011- 12 campaign kicked off with the Conference's first- ever Pac-12 Football Championship game, pitting OREGON for the North Division and UCLA from the South Division. The Ducks won the inaugural cham- pionship game, 49-31, in front of a sold-out stadium (59,376) in Eugene, Ore. The Conference's nine national titles came in the form of five women's and four men's crowns. Six different league schools claimed NCAA titles and, of the five NCAA institutions to have won multiples titles, three were from the Pac-12. CALIFORNIA, STANFORD and USC each won two NCAA Championships. The Golden Bears swept the men's and women's swimming and diving crowns for the second-consecutive year; the Car- dinal raised the national championship trophy for the first time ever in women's soccer and added a second-consecutive crown in women's water polo; while the Trojans won their fourth-straight men's tennis and men's water polo crowns. Arguably the best women's volleyball confer- ence in the country, UCLA brought home the na- tional title, the Pac-12's first in the sport in six years. OREGON also continued its remarkable streak in women's indoor track, winning a third-straight crown. And ARIZONA won its first baseball crown in over a quarter century as it claimed the Confer- ence's ninth of the year. In addition to the nine national championships, the Pac-12 also had runners-up in eight NCAA Championship events: women's volleyball (USC), cross country (WASHINGTON), men's water polo (UCLA), skiing (UTAH), women's tennis (UCLA), women's track & field (OREGON), men's volleyball (USC) and women's water polo (USC). Overall, the Conference had 39 teams finish in the top four at 25 NCAA Championship events. Participation in the postseason was a common occurrence for the Pac-12 in 2011-12. Of the 22 sports sponsored by the Conference, 14 witnessed at least half its teams participating in NCAA or other postseason action. The men sent 53 of a possible 101 teams into the postseason (52.4 percent), while the women sent 67 of a possible 113 teams (59.3 percent). The Conference experienced continued suc- cess in football as the league sent two teams to BCS Bowl games for the second-straight year. Over- all, seven teams went to bowls games. OREGON claimed its 10th Pac-12 crown in the sport, win- ning the Conference's first-ever Football Champion- ship Game, and claimed a spot in the Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, STANFORD (Tostitos Fiesta Bowl), ARI- ZONA STATE (MAACO Las Vegas Bowl), CALIFOR- NIA (Holiday Bowl), WASHINGTON (Valero Alamo Bowl), UTAH (Hyundai Sun Bowl) and UCLA (Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl) also earned bowl bids. Oregon and Stanford were ranked in the top-5 of the Associ- ated Press' poll at season's end, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Conference newcomer COLORADO won the Pac-12 Tournament men's basketball title and was joined by CALIFORNIA in the NCAA Tournament. Regular-season champion WASHINGTON and STANFORD headed to the NIT where the Cardinal put together an impressive run that resulted in the Pac-12's sixth-ever NIT title. The Huskies advanced to New York City, but fell in the semifinals. The Con- ference's 10-3 record in NIT play were the most wins ever by Pac-12 teams in the nation's oldest tournament. WASHINGTON STATE narrowly missed out on becoming the third Pac-12 team in four years to capture a postseason title in the College Basket- ball Invitational (CBI), advancing to the champion- ship series before falling, two games to one. On the women's side, two teams competed in the NCAA Tournament and five others competed in the WNIT. STANFORD made its fifth-consecutive NCAA Women's Final Four appearance after win- ning its sixth-straight Pac-12 Tournament crown. CALIFORNIA made a return to the postseason after a two-year absence. With COLORADO and WASH- INGTON advancing the furthest in the WNIT, Pac- 12 teams went 12-4 in the postseason in games against non-Conference opponents. The Conference has dominated the volleyball field, winning a record 14 NCAA titles in the sport since 1982. UCLA captured its first NCAA title since 1991, while USC advanced to the national semifi- nals for the second-straight year. Seven Pac-12 teams earned postseason bids, the 12th-consecu- tive year the Conference has sent at least six teams to the NCAA Tournament. ARIZONA won the Conference's 27th all-time NCAA baseball championship in 2012, becoming only the second team in NCAA history to go 10-0 in postseason play. Five Pac-12 teams received NCAA Tournament bids, with UCLA joining the Wildcats at the NCAA College World Series. In addition, ORE- GON and STANFORD reached the Super Regionals, and OREGON STATE also represented the Confer- ence in the postseason event. Without question, the Conference has domi- nated the softball field, winning 23 national cham- pionships in the sport since 1982, most recently capturing six in a row from 2006-11. Eight Pac-12 teams earned NCAA Tournament bids in 2012, in- cluding the No. 1-overall seed CALIFORNIA. The eight postseason teams were the most for the Con- ference since 2007. Cal, ARIZONA STATE and OR- EGON punched their tickets to the NCAA Women's College World Series, the ninth time the Conference had sent three teams to the WCWS. The Pac-12 swept two men's and women's sports, capturing national championships in swim- ming & diving, and water polo. CALIFORNIA took home both swimming & diving crowns for the sec- ond-straight year. In water polo, USC was the top men's team for the fourth year in a row, while the STANFORD women repeated as national champi- ons. Pac-12 members have won 306 NCAA team championships on the men's side, 89 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), 53 tennis titles, 45 outdoor track & field crowns, and 27 baseball titles. Pac-12 mem- bers have won 25 of 43 NCAA titles in volleyball, 38 of 42 in water polo, 27 in skiing, and 23 in swim- ming & diving national championships. Individually, the Conference has produced an impressive number of NCAA men's individual cham- pions, as well, boasting 2,073 individual crowns. 2012-13 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL / / PREVIEW

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