Welcome to the Family!: University of the Pacific to Join the WCC Next Basketball Season

Mar 16, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; The Pacific Tigers bench runs onto the court after the game against the UC Irvine Anteaters during the championship game of the Big West tournament at the Honda Center. The Pacific Tigers defeated the UC Irvine Anteaters 64-55. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

A few seasons ago, the West Coast Conference added BYU to expand the conference to nine teams. It has proven to be a positive addition to the conference,since the Cougars have gone to the NCAA tournament and the NIT in their first two years in the WCC. BYU has a total record of 40-15 the last two years. This upcoming year, the WCC is adding another perennial winner by adding the Pacific Tigers in the 2013-2014 season.

The Tigers hail from the Big West Conference, which they have been members of since 1971. However, Pacific was one of the charter members of the WCC during its conception in 1952. These two parties already have some familiarity with each other that dates back over 50 years. This will be a move that will most likely benefit both the WCC and Pacific University, based on the history they have had prior to this.

Here is some facts about University of the Pacific Tigers:

Location: Stockton, California

Founded: 1851

Type: Private (Methodist)

Enrollment: 6,652

Team: Tigers

Mascot: Tiger

In terms of the WCC, the Tigers fit in fairly well. With their current enrollment numbers, Pacific would rank 7th out of 10 in the conference in size of enrollment. They fit in well as a private college with a religious affiliation, considering every other school in the WCC is private with a religious affiliation as well.  Their campus in Stockton, California is about an hour and a half away from Santa Clara, Saint Mary’s, and San Francisco. All of these factors indicate a smooth transition from the Big West to the WCC for the Pacific Tigers.

All of that is just the tip of the iceberg. What the WCC is truly getting, is a school with a great basketball program.

In the past decade, the Tigers have reached the NCAA tournament a total of four times. In those four appearances, the Tigers have advanced past the round of 64 twice. The only current WCC schools that have reached the round of 32 are Gonzaga and BYU. Pacific is joining some pretty good company with that statistic.

In addition to their postseason success, Pacific has experienced a great deal of success in the regular season as well. In the past five seasons, the Tigers are 89-70 overall and 49-33 in conference play. Against WCC teams, the University of the Pacific has an even record of 10 wins and 10 losses in the past six years.

Not only will Pacific be experiencing a ton of change by moving conferences, but with transitioning between head coaches as well. After 25 years of being the head coach at the University of the Pacific, Bob Thomason ended his tenure as the Tigers head coach when he retired at the conclusion of this season. The legendary coach will surely be missed; Thomason amassed 414 victories during his time at Pacific, the most in Big West history. It only seems fitting that Thomason goes out with a NCAA tournament appearance.

On March 26th, Ron Verlin, an associate head coach at Pacific, was named the new head coach. He has some gigantic shoes to fill, but is as prepared as anyone to fill those shoes considering he has worked under Thomason for the last 19 years as his associate.

Pacific is a fantastic addition to the conference based on all the aforementioned information. There are a small amount of division one basketball teams that could have served as the 10th member of the conference any better than the Pacific Tigers.

Welcome to the conference gentleman, make your self at home.