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2015-16 Pac-12 Year in Review

Jul 11, 2016
Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Year In Review | 2015-16 Year In Review (PDF)

Built on a firm foundation of academic excellence and superior athletic performance, the Pac-12 Conference renewed its undisputed claim as the Conference of Champions® in 2015-16. At the same time, its accomplishments and milestones extended beyond the fields and courts to the classrooms, and beyond its traditional geographic footprint all the way to Asia.

On the field, the Pac-12 rises above the rest, claiming an incredible 150 NCAA team titles since 1999-2000, including a nation-leading 10 in 2015-16, an average of nearly 10 championships per academic year. Even more impressive has been the breadth of the Pac-12’s success, with championships coming in 29 different men’s and women’s sports. The Pac-12 has led or tied the nation in NCAA Championships in 51 of the last 56 years, the only exceptions being in 1980-81, 1988-89, 1990-91 and 1995-96 when the Conference finished second, and only twice finished third in 1998-99 and 2004-05.

For the 11th-consecutive year, the Pac-12 had the most or tied for the most NCAA titles of any conference in the country, winning at least six every year since 2000-01. No other conference has won double-digit NCAA crowns in a single year, the Pac-12 doing so eight times, including a record 14 in 1996-97.

Spanning nearly a century of outstanding athletics achievements, the Pac-12 was the first conference to reach 400 championships in 2010-11. With the inclusion of Colorado and Utah, the Conference surpassed another major milestone, with league teams capturing 450 titles, outdistancing the next conference by nearly 200. In all, Conference teams have won 488 NCAA Championships (295 men’s, 164 women’s, 29 combined).

Pac-12 members have won 295 NCAA team championships on the men’s side, 77 more than the next closest conference. Men’s NCAA crowns have come at a phenomenal rate for the Pac-12 - 16 basketball titles by six schools, 54 tennis titles, 47 outdoor track & field crowns, and 28 baseball titles. Pac-12 members have won 25 of 47 NCAA titles in volleyball, 42 of 47 in water polo, 29 in skiing, and 24 in swimming & diving national championships.

Individually, the Conference has produced an impressive number of NCAA individual champions. Over 2,000 (2,248) individual crowns have been won by Pac-12 student-athletes over the years with 1,352 by male student-athletes. Student-athletes have also captured 179 individual titles at combined championships (ie., skiing and fencing).

On the women’s side, the story is much the same. Since the NCAA began conducting women’s championships 35 years ago, Pac-12 members have claimed at least four national titles in a single season on 26 occasions, including a current streak of 16-consecutive years, dating back to 2000. Overall, the Pac-12 has captured 164 NCAA women’s titles, easily outdistancing the SEC, which is second with 99. Pac-12 members have dominated a number of sports, winning 23 softball titles, 22 tennis crowns, 14 volleyball titles, 17 of the last 27 trophies in golf, and 14 in swimming & diving.

Pac-12 women student-athletes shine nationally on an individual basis, as well, having captured an unmatched 714 NCAA individual crowns, an average of over 20 championships per season.

The Pac-12’s excellence is further proven in the annual Division I Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup competition, the prestigious award that honors the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. STANFORD continued its remarkable run and won a remarkable 22nd-consecutive Directors’ Cup in 2015-16 to lead the Conference. Six Pac-12 member institutions ranked among the top-15 Division I programs, and a remarkable seven institutions were in the top 25: No. 1 STANFORD, No. 4 USC, No. 6 UCLA, No. 10 OREGON No. 11 CALIFORNIA, No. 14 WASHINGTON and No. 25 ARIZONA. At least five member institutions have been ranked in the top 20 in all but one year of the Director’s Cup program, with seven appearing in the top 20 on five different occasions (1998, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006).