Division II PacWest back in national spotlight

QUEEN CREEK, AZ - Just over two years year ago seven NCAA Division II programs banded together to revive a briefly dormant league, marking the rebirth of the Pacific West Conference.

In a short time the PacWest has been rocketing back to prominence thanks to national-caliber athletic programs, automatic qualifers, the addition of baseball as a conference sport, and the rise to a nine-team league.

The largest geographic conference in Division II saw its rebirth begin in the fall of 2006 when the league began competition in men's and women's soccer for the first time. Women's basketball also became a league sport, complementing men's golf, women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's basketball and softball which have been a staple of the league for several years.

Grand Canyon University in Arizona, Dixie State College of Utah and Notre Dame de Namur University in California teamed up with longtime Hawaiian-based PacWest programs Chaminade University of Honolulu, Brigham Young University Hawaii, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and Hawai‘i Pacific University to reform a conference that fell silent for one year.

In the fall, the Pacific West crowns champions in men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, and men's and women's cross country, while the winter season is the domain of men's and women's basketball. In the spring, the league celebrates champions in women's tennis, men's golf, softball, and for the first time in 2009 - baseball.

Following the 2004-05 campaign, the Pacific West Conference lost a pair of programs in Western New Mexico and Montana State-Billings to slip below the mandated six-team minimum that comprises an official NCAA II league. With it went the AQs for post-season play.

However, the four schools off the mainland competed together as an unofficial conference, playing each other in the sport of basketball so many times that game films quickly became obsolete.

Although not officially recognized by the NCAA that year, the perseverance by Chaminade, BYU-Hawaii, HPU and Hawai‘i Hilo kept the core of a proud tradition intact until the three new schools put the league back on the Division II map.

And it is a big map.

From the Southwest to the Pacific Rim, the PacWest can redeem a lot of frequent flyer miles, but its travel plans have its teams landing in major metropolitan markets that many established Division II leagues don't match.

The schools in Hawaii have a natural appeal to the local media and community because they turn out quality athletic programs in a focused market. BYU-Hawaii tennis along with the Chaminade men's basketball team's prominent appearance in the Maui Invitational are just a few of the highly-visible programs that compete in Pacific West outside the contiguous 48.

NDNU, who became a full-fledged Division II member this year, calls Belmont, CA, home and is situated midway between the two major media and population centers of San Francisco and San Jose. The addition of the Academy of Art University in SanFrancisco this year and Dominican University of California in 2009-10 gives the PacWest three schools in the Bay Area.

Dixie State is located in the southwest corner of Utah in St. George, not too far across the Nevada border from Las Vegas. The college draws interest from Salt Lake City and Provo as it became the first full-fledged NCAA Division II program in the state this year. The former junior college is now eligible for NCAA II post-season play.

Grand Canyon University has been in the Division II bracket for a number of years. The Antelopes have a rich tradition of basketball and soccer, and have one of the largest markets in the nation with their location in Phoenix.

The PacWest conference is led by Bob Hogue, the second-year commissioner and former state senator from Hawai‘i who is based in the island state. Hogue replaced Woody Hahn who retired after serving as the commissioner since the early 1990s.

Tom Di Camillo, who spent 17 years as the sports information director at Division II West Chester University of Pennsylvania, has been tabbed as the conference information director for the league. He is in his third year with the conference and is based in Queen Creek, AZ (suburban Phoenix).

--PACWEST--