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Conference History
The roots of the Pacific-10 Conference date back over 90 years to December 2, 1915, when the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was founded at a meeting at the Oregon Hotel in Portland, Ore. The original membership consisted of four schools - the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and Oregon State College (now Oregon State University). All still are charter members of the Conference. Pacific Coast Conference play began in 1916 and, one year later, Washington State College (now Washington State University) was accepted into the league, with Stanford University following in 1918. In 1922, the PCC expanded to eight teams with the admission of the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of Idaho. In 1924, the University of Montana joined the league roster, and in 1928, the PCC grew to 10 members with the addition of UCLA. The Pacific Coast Conference competed as a 10-member league until 1950, with the exception of 1943-45 when World War II curtailed intercollegiate athletic competition to a minimum. During that time, the league's first commissioner was named. Edwin N. Atherton was Commissioner in 1940 and was succeeded by Victor O. Schmidt in 1944. In 1950, Montana resigned from the Conference and joined the Mountain States Conference. The PCC continued as a nine-team Conference through 1958. In 1959, the PCC was dissolved and the Athletic Associates of Western Universities was formed and Thomas J. Hamil ton was appointed Commissioner of the new league. The original AAWU membership included California, Stanford, Southern California, UCLA and Washington. Washington State joined the membership in 1962, while Oregon and Oregon State joined in 1964. Under Hamilton's watch, the name Pacific-8 Conference was adopted in 1968. In 1971, Wiles Hallock took over as Commissioner of the Pac-8. Ten years later, on July 1, 1978, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University were admitted to the league and the Pacific-10 Conference became a reality. In 1986-87, the league took on a new look, expanding to include 10 women's sports. Thomas C. Hansen was named the Commissioner of the Pac-10 in 1983, a role he would hold for 26 years until 2009. Hansen was succeeded by current Commissioner Larry Scott, who took on the new role in July 2009. Currently, the Pac-10 sponsors 11 men's sports and 11 women's sports. Additionally, the Conference is a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) in four other men's sports and three women's sports. The Pacific-10 Conference offices are located 25 miles east of San Francisco in Walnut Creek, Calif. Conference Commissioners Timeline
Edwin N. Atherton was named the Conference's first Commissioner in 1940, preceding over the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). He was succeeded by Victor O. Schmidt in 1944, who handed over the reigns of the Athletic Association of Western Universities to Thomas J. Hamilton in 1959 when the AAWU was formed and for the first three years of the Pacific-8. Wiles Hallock was selected Commissioner of the Pacific-8 in 1971 and saw the league expand into the Pacific-10 in 1978 and held that role until the early 1980s. Thomas C. Hansen was selected the Commissioner of the Pac-10 in 1983 and remained in that position for 26 years before retiring. Current Commissioner Larry Scott succeeded Hansen in July 2009. |
