By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Pac-10 Commissioner Dave Hansen announced Monday that the board
of chief executive officers approved a proposal to establish a
postseason conference tournament beginning March 2002.
The agreement leaves the Ivy League as the only major NCAA
Division I conference to not hold this kind of round-robin event
for an automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The men’s
draw, consisting of eight seeded schools, will be hosted initially
at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. No details have been
discussed as to whether the venue will change annually.
“The athletic directors have been working to initiate a
new tournament for the men’s programs because of the
increased visibility it will provide the conference at the time of
year when college basketball is nationally highlighted,” said
University of California Director of Athletics John Kasser, who
chaired the committee to bring back the men’s tournament.
On the women’s side, all 10 universities within the Pac-10
will be allowed to participate. That tournament will be hosted by
one of the ten participants on a rotating cycle.
“The Pac-10 Tournament will be the culmination and
highlight of the women’s season,” said Marie Tuite,
senior administrator at the University of Washington and chair for
the new women’s tournament. “The television coverage
and other exposure it will provide our teams should assist us in
gaining berths and good seedings in the NCAA
Championships.”
The Pac-10 first attempted such a tournament back in 1987, but
was forced to disband the men’s event that followed the
conference schedule after three years, due to poor attendance. A
women’s tournament has never held sponsorship.
Despite starting the conference season one week earlier for
men’s basketball, and quite possibly a week earlier for the
women’s season, the impact for UCLA is still positive.
“I think it’s good because now anyone has a chance
(to make the NCAA Tournament),” UCLA sophomore guard Jalina
Bradley said. “Women’s sports are progressing and to
get more exposure and a lot of fans to come watch us would be
great.”
“It’s another opportunity for teams that take a
while to gel and find momentum to get into the postseason,”
UCLA women’s assistant coach Tia Jackson said. “But
now, we will be playing teams within the conference at least three
times a year when we may want to be getting ready for the
tournament.”
The resurrection of the men’s event, according to some, is
long overdue. “I think it will be great for the school to get
more exposure and be able to play in L.A.,” UCLA sophomore
forward Jason Kapono said. “It’s been a shame that we
had to be one of the last conferences to put one
together.”
On the issue of a postseason tournament affecting UCLA
student-athletes’ preparation for winter quarter final exams,
many feel that it won’t hinder their progress.
“UCLA has always had a high priority on the academic
program for its players,” Bruin freshman guard Ryan Walcott
said. “For a school like ours, we will just have to go into a
tournament like that and take care of our business.”