University of The Pacific (United States) - Athletics

Athletics

See also: Pacific Tigers men's basketball and Pacific Tigers football

Pacific had previously competed in the Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association conference but left in 1950. In 1952, Pacific became a charter member of the California Basketball Association, which soon became the West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) and is now the West Coast Conference. They remained in the WCAC until joining the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, now known as the Big West Conference, in 1969 for football and 1971 for other sports.

Facilities include the 2,500-seat Klein Family Field for baseball, the 350-seat Bill Simoni Field for softball, the 6,150-seat Alex G. Spanos Center for basketball and volleyball, the 30,000-seat Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium for soccer (and high school football), the Hal Nelson Tennis Courts and the Chris Kjeldsen Pool.

University of the Pacific competes in NCAA Division I athletics as the Pacific Tigers in the Big West Conference, where they are the only private school in the conference. The athletics department sponsors 16 sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's cross country, women's field hockey, men's golf, women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's volleyball and men's and women's water polo. The university's two national championships have come in women's volleyball, a sport in which the school advanced to 24 straight NCAA Tournaments (1981–2004) and appeared in nine Final Fours (2 AIAW, 7 NCAA).

The Pacific Tigers men's basketball program made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2004, 2005, 2006). Head coach Bob Thomason became the winningest head coach in Big West Conference men's basketball history when he collected his 206th career league victory on Feb. 14, 2009, surpassing the conference win total of former LBSU and UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian.

In 2003-04, the Tigers were 25-8. They defeated Cal State Northridge, 75-73, in the 2004 Big West Conference championship game. They went on to the NCAA tournament and defeated number 5 seeded Providence in the first round. It was Pacific's second trip to the NCAA Tournament under Thomason (1996–97). Pacific also shared the Big West Conference regular season championship with a record of 17-1. Pacific has also achieved a 16-game winning streak three times under Thomason.

In the 2004-05 season, the Tigers earned an at-large bid as an 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat 9 seeded Pittsburgh in the first round. The 2004-05 Tigers finished the season with the best record in school history at 27-4.

In 2005-06, after winning the Big West regular season and tournament titles, Pacific earned their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. As a 13 seed, the Tigers played 4th seed Boston College. Down 13, they tied the game to force overtime. In the first extra session, Pacific led by as many as six points, but Boston College came back to tie the game to force double overtime. Pacific eventually lost, 88-76.

After 77 years of competition, Pacific ended its football program after the 1995 season.

In April 2011, Athletics Director Lynn King announced he would step down in July 2011 to work on special projects for the University. Former Stanford Athletics Director and current University Vice President of External Relations Ted Leland was named as King's temporary replacement.

On March 28, 2012, it was announced that Pacific would rejoin the West Coast Conference, effective with the 2013–14 season.

On November 12, 2012, it was announced that Pacific would add three new sports teams to its roster - a men's soccer team, a women's track and field team and a women's beach volleyball team. All three were expected to start competition in 2013.