Pacific Rejoining WCC

up7587 wrote:Note the BYU centric vibe in this report: Pacific on verge of joining BYU. What's the betting line that BYU will still be a member of the WCC in 2013-14?

Pacific will join in the WCC in 2013-14 in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis and women’s volleyball.

up7587 wrote:

Pacific will join in the WCC in 2013-14 in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis and women’s volleyball.

What, no crew?

By joining the WCC, Pacific will be aligned with like-sized, private universities that share similar academic standards, have religious-based origins and are grouped geographically. Best of all for area sports fans, the Tigers will welcome men's basketball stalwarts Gonzaga University and Brigham Young University each year to Stockton and rekindle rivalries with Santa Clara University, the University of San Francisco and Saint Mary's College. Even the other universities in the WCC - the University of San Diego, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and the University of Portland - are more attractive opponents than most in the Big West.

Stockton is an event-oriented city, and when Gonzaga and BYU come to town, it will be an event. When Big West teams such as California State University, Northridge, or University of California, Riverside, come to town, with all due respect, not many fans seem to care. Gonzaga and BYU have long been regular participants in the NCAA Tournament. WCC members Saint Mary's and San Diego have had tournament success, and the Bay Area universities will draw fans who remember the good ol' days and new fans will get caught up as those rivalries redevelop.

Pacific will receive more NCAA men's basketball tournament revenue as a member of the WCC, which regularly has multiple entrants, unlike the "one-bid" Big West. And the Tigers will receive more exposure as a member of the WCC, which has a television contract with ESPN and is working to secure deals with regional cable operators.

Joining the WCC is the shot in the arm Pacific athletics desperately needs, as the program has struggled across the board in recent years, with the exception of softball, which won its first Big West title last season, and fan interest has waned.

Geezaldinho wrote:Just so I know... Do they wear bikinis in sand volleyball?

up7587 wrote:Settle down, fellas.

Pacific named Ron Verlin, a 19-year assistant at the school, the program’s next head coach.

Verlin replaces Bob Thomason, who retired after 25 seasons as the head coach of the Tigers. He is a native of the area, graduating from Sacramento State in 1990 and spending time as an assistant coach at Nevada and at Columbia (Calif.) College in Sonora prior to moving on to Stockton.

The program will enter the West Coast Conference next season after spending the past 42 years in the Big West Conference.

(According to sources), Verlin was already handling a majority of the recruiting this season, getting commitments from four prospects, two out of high school and two from junior colleges.

At a program like Pacific, it’s best to have a person familiar with the program, and it’s tough to beat an assistant who has been there for almost two decades. Verlin has been a part of four of Pacific’s Big West tournament titles and six of their regular season championships.

The Tigers finished 22-13 overall and 13-5 in conference play, winning the Big West tournament and falling to Miami in the second (first?) round of the NCAA Tournament.

Alex Kline
‏@TheRecruitScoop   Long Beach State transfer Jack Williams has signed with Pacific, the school announces.