SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The West Coast Conference announced today that Brigham Young University has formally accepted an invitation to join the WCC with competition to begin in the 2011-12 academic year.
"The West Coast Conference is excited to welcome Brigham Young University as our ninth member institution," University of Portland President and WCC Presidents' Council Chair Rev. E. William Beauchamp said. "In BYU, we are adding a private, faith-based institution with a strong academic reputation and tradition of excellence in athletics. We feel they will be a good athletic fit with our programs that are annually challenging for post-season appearances and national championships. We are looking forward to working with BYU in the months and years ahead."
"We're grateful and honored to accept this invitation from the West Coast Conference," said BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson. "We are pleased to be associating with a group of fellow private, faith-based institutions with whom we also share strong academics. We admire the collegiality and stability this conference enjoys and look forward to competing with them."
Brigham Young University brings to the West Coast Conference a track record of success in academics and athletics. BYU has been consistently recognized as one of the top-rated academic institutions in the nation and is home to an athletic program that has enjoyed success at both the conference and national levels. BYU, which will become an independent in FBS football, will compete in the West Coast Conference in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.
"This is an historic day for the West Coast Conference," WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said. "The addition of Brigham Young University adds to our membership another private, faith-based institution, which shares the common bond of an aligned emphasis on combining excellence in academics with excellence in athletics. We look forward to welcoming the Cougars to the WCC for the 2011-12 academic year."
http://www.wccsports.com/genrel/090110aac.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I think most of the WCC is like Sac/PSU. Gonzaga only has 6,000 seats and is the biggest. Gonzaga obviously a better conf mate than Weber State but they could have an in-state conf rival again instead of it being OOC games.
