Entering the 2008-09 season, the Pacific-10 Conference continues to uphold its tradition as the "Conference of Champions." Pac-10 members have claimed an incredible 159 NCAA team titles over the past 18 seasons, for an average of more than eight championships per academic year.

Even more impressive is the breadth of the Pac-10's success, as those 159 team titles have come in 26 different men's and women's sports. The Pac-10 has led the nation in NCAA Championships 42 of the last 48 years and finished second five times.

Spanning nearly a century of outstanding athletics achievement, the Pac-10 has captured 372 NCAA titles (259 men's, 113 women's), far outdistancing the runner-up Big Ten Conference's 217 titles.

The Conference's reputation is further proven in the annual United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup competition, the prestigious award that honors the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. STANFORD continued its remarkable run in the 2007-08 season, winning its 14th consecutive Directors' Cup. In the 2007-08 competition, eight of the Top-30 Division I programs were Pac-10 members: No. 1 STANFORD, No. 2 UCLA, No. 4 ARIZONA STATE, No. 7 CALIFORNIA, No. 13 USC, No. 22 WASHINGTON, No. 26 OREGON and No. 27 ARIZONA. The Pac-10 landed four programs in the Top-10, one more than the second-place SEC (3).

The Pac-10 captured 13 NCAA titles in 2007-08 to lead the nation, finishing just one shy of the all-time Division I record of 14 titles, set by the Pac-10 in 1996-97. It should be noted that the Pac-10 total does not include CALIFORNIA's national championship in men's rugby or STANFORD's national championship in women's synchronized swimming, as they are not counted as NCAA titles. The Pac-10 led the nation with the most NCAA titles in women's sports with eight.

NCAA team champions from the Pac-10 in 2007-08 came from ARIZONA (men's and women's swimming and diving), ARIZONA STATE (men's and women's indoor track & field and softball), CALIFORNIA (men's water polo), OREGON (men's cross country), STANFORD (women's cross country), UCLA (women's water polo, women's tennis and men's golf) and USC (women's soccer and women's golf). The Pac-10 also had runners-up in 10 NCAA Championship events: women's cross country (OREGON), women's volleyball (STANFORD), men's water polo (USC), women's basketball (STANFORD), men's gymnastics (STANFORD), men's golf (STANFORD), women's golf (UCLA), women's tennis (CALIFORNIA), women's track & field (ARIZONA STATE) and women's water polo (USC) . Overall, the Conference had 32 teams finish in the top four at NCAA Championship events.

Participation in the postseason was a common occurrence for the Conference in 2007-08. Of the 22 sports sponsored by the Pac-10, 20 witnessed at least half its teams participating in NCAA or other postseason action. The men sent 73 of a possible 90 teams into the postseason (81.1 percent), while the women sent 74 of a possible 100 teams (74.0 percent).

The Pac-10 experienced continued success in football as the league sent six teams to bowl games. USC and ARIZONA STATE were named co-champions with identical 7-2 league records. The Trojans capped their season with a 49-17 win over Illinois in the Rose Bowl. Overall, the Pac-10 went 4-2 in postseason bowl games with ARIZONA STATE, CALIFORNIA, OREGON, OREGON STATE and UCLA also earning bowl appearances. USC, ARIZONA STATE, OREGON and OREGON STATE found themselves ranked in the Top-25 in the nation at the conclusion of the season, finishing third, 16th, 23rd and 25th, respectively (Associated Press).

The Pac-10 was the premier basketball conference this season, as it sent a record nine teams to postseason play. The UCLA Bruins, the Pac-10 regular season champion and Pacific Life Pac-10 Tournament champion, advanced to the Final Four for the third consecutive season. On the women's side, three teams competed in the NCAA Tournament, as STANFORD advanced to the national championship for the first time since 1992. The Cardinal also claimed the 2007-08 regular season title and the State Farm Pac-10 Tournament trophy.

The Conference continued its dominance in softball as seven of eight teams earned trips to NCAA regional play, the most out of any conference in the nation. ARIZONA STATE claimed its first national title, outscoring Texas A&M by a margin of 14-0 in the best-of-three championship series. It marked the 20th national championship by a Pac-10 team since 1982. With an 18-3 Conference record, ARIZONA STATE picked up its first-ever Pac-10 crown, while earning a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship. The ARIZONA STATE baseball team claimed the 2008 Pac-10 championship with a 16-8 record in league play. The Conference sent five teams to postseason play, including STANFORD, which made its 16th appearance at the College World Series, and first in five seasons.

The Conference swept five NCAA men's and women's titles, including cross country, indoor track & field, golf, water polo and swimming and diving. CALIFORNIA captured the men's water polo title for the second year in a row, while UCLA garnered the women's hardware for the fourth consecutive year. The OREGON men took home the cross country title, while the STANFORD women claimed their third-straight crown. The NCAA golf championship trophies were taken home by LA counterparts, as UCLA won the men's title and USC won the women's. Two Conference schools swept on their own, including ARIZONA STATE (men's and women's indoor track & field) and ARIZONA (men's and women's swimming and diving).

On the men's side, Pac-10 members have won 259 NCAA team championships, far ahead of the the 199 claimed by the runner-up Big Ten. Men's NCAA crowns have come at a phenomenal rate for the Pac-10 - 15 basketball titles by five schools (more than any other conference), 49 tennis titles, 45 outdoor track and field crowns, and 26 baseball titles. Pac-10 members have won 24 of the last 39 NCAA titles in volleyball, 34 of the last 49 in water polo, and 21 total swimming and diving national championships.

Individually, the Conference has produced an impressive number of NCAA men's individual champions as well, claiming 1,162 NCAA individual crowns.

On the women's side, the story is much the same. Since the NCAA began conducting women's championships 27 years ago, Pac-10 members have claimed at least four national titles in a single season on 19 occasions. Overall, the Pac-10 has captured 113 NCAA women's crowns, easily outdistancing the SEC, which is second with 72. Pac-10 members have dominated a number of sports, winning 20 softball titles, 18 tennis crowns, 13 of the last 18 volleyball titles, 12 of the last 19 trophies in golf and 10 in swimming and diving.

Pac-10 women athletes shine nationally on an individual basis as well, having captured an unmatched 511 NCAA individual titles, an average of more than 18 champions per season.

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. 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. One year later, Washington State College (now Washington State University), was accepted into the Conference, and Stanford University joined in 1918.

In 1922, the PCC expanded to eight teams with the admission of the University of Southern California and the University of Idaho. Montana joined the Conference in 1924, and in 1928, the PCC grew to 10 members with the addition of UCLA.

The Pacific Coast Conference competed as a 10-team league until 1950, with the exception of 1943-45, when World War II curtailed intercollegiate athletic competition to a minimum. 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 a new Conference was formed - the Athletic Association of Western Universities. Original AAWU membership consisted of California, Stanford, Southern California, UCLA, and Washington. Washington State became a member in 1962, while Oregon and Oregon State joined in 1964. In 1968, the name Pacific-8 Conference was adopted.

Ten years later, on July 1, 1978, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University were admitted 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.

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 two other women's sports.

Edwin N. Atherton was named the Conference's first Commissioner in 1940. He has been succeeded by Victor O. Schmidt (1944), Thomas J. Hamilton (1959), Wiles Hallock (1971), and current Commissioner Thomas C. Hansen in 1983.

The Pacific-10 Conference offices are located 25 miles east of San Francisco in Walnut Creek, Calif.