 |  |
Pacific West Conference rolls inaugural PacWest Magazine off of the presses
Pacific West Conference rolls inaugural magazine off of the presses
HONOLULU, HI - The Pacific West Conference unveiled
another innovation for the league this week with the publishing of
the first-ever PacWest Magazine. The periodical highlights
some of the best stories of outstanding student-athletes and
athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level.
"If you want to know just how many national championships have been won by PacWest schools, you can read about it in PacWest Magazine," Bob Hogue, commissioner of the PacWest who spearheaded the project, said. "You can find out about the big upset by the Notre Dame de Namur's men's soccer team or Hawai‘i Hilo's claim on the first Commissioner's Cup.
PacWest Magazine gives the reader tidbits, fast-facts, as well as a peek at the past and a glimpse of the future. The issue also features an introduction of the two newest PacWest programs - Academy of Art University and Dominican University of California.
"The Fall 2008 issue of PacWest Magazine now is available at all PacWest contest sites," Hogue said of the publication's availability. "It features the outstanding volleyball, soccer and cross country teams of the Pacific West Conference."
Fans will conveniently be able to keep up with their favorite programs since the inaugural edition includes the volleyball, soccer and cross country rosters for BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade, Dixie State, Grand Canyon, Hawai‘i Hilo, Hawai‘i Pacific and Notre Dame de Namur.
This edition's cover story features Trina Kauliakamoa (Las Vegas, NV/Palo Verde), Chaminade's terrorizing outside hitter who currently is among the leaders in the conference in multiple statistical categories.
"Work on the magazine began this past summer in the conference office, but it was through the great work of the sports information directors from all of PacWest schools, that we were able to provide many vivid action photos and fascinating feature articles that made the publication what it is," Hogue explained. "Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations Tom Di Camillo and Compliance and External Affairs Director Wayne Coito were major contributors as well."
The next edition of PacWest Magazine, featuring men's and women's basketball and the conference spring sports, is scheduled for publication in early 2009. An online version of PacWest Magazine also is in the works.
To obtain a copy of PacWest Magazine, please contact the PacWest Conference Office by e-mail at waynekai@gmail.com.
The PacWest
Just over two years ago, seven NCAA Division II programs banded together to revive a briefly dormant league, marking the rebirth of the Pacific West Conference.
In a short time the PacWest has been rocketing back to prominence thanks to national-caliber athletic programs, automatic qualifiers, the addition of baseball as a conference sport, and the rise to a nine-team league.
The largest geographic conference in Division II saw its rebirth begin in the fall of 2006 when the league began competition in men's and women's soccer for the first time. Women's basketball also became a league sport, complementing men's golf, women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's basketball and softball which had been PacWest staples for several years.
Grand Canyon University in Arizona, Dixie State College of Utah and Notre Dame de Namur University in California teamed up with longtime Hawaiian-based PacWest programs Chaminade University of Honolulu, Brigham Young University Hawaii, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and Hawai‘i Pacific University to reform a conference that fell silent for one year.
In the fall, the PacWest crowns champions in men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, and men's and women's cross country, while the winter season is the domain of men's and women's basketball. In the spring, the league celebrates champions in women's tennis, men's golf, softball, and for the first time in 2009 - baseball.
Following the 2004-05 campaign, the Pacific West Conference lost a pair of programs in Western New Mexico and Montana State-Billings to slip below the mandated six-team minimum that comprises an official NCAA II league. With it went the automatic qualifiers for post-season play.
However, the four schools off the Mainland competed together as an unofficial conference, playing each other in the sport of basketball so many times that game films quickly became obsolete.
Although not officially recognized by the NCAA that year, the perseverance by Chaminade, BYU-Hawaii, HPU and Hawai‘i Hilo kept the core of a proud tradition intact until the three new schools put the league back on the Division II map.
And it is a big map.
From the Southwest to the Pacific Rim, the PacWest redeems a ton of frequent flyer miles, but its travel plans have its teams landing in major metropolitan markets established Division II leagues can't match.
The schools in Hawaii have a natural appeal to the local media and community because they turn out quality athletic programs in a focused market. BYU-Hawaii tennis along with Chaminade's prominent appearance in the predominantly Division I men's basketball Maui Invitational are just a few of the highly visible programs that compete in the PacWest.
NDNU, which became a full-fledged Division II member this year, calls Belmont, CA, home. It is situated midway between the two major media and population centers of San Francisco and San Jose. The addition of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco this year and Dominican University of California in 2009-10 gives the PacWest three schools in the Bay Area.
Dixie State is located in the southwest corner of Utah in St. George, not too far across the Nevada border from Las Vegas. The college draws interest from Salt Lake City and Provo as it became the first full-fledged NCAA Division II program in the state this year. The former junior college is now eligible for NCAA II post-season play.
Grand Canyon University has been in the Division II ranks for a number of years. The Antelopes have a rich tradition of basketball and soccer, and have one of the largest markets in the nation with their location in Phoenix.
Bob Hogue leads the PacWest conference from his office in Hawai‘i. Now in his second year, the former state senator replaced Woody Hahn who retired after serving as the commissioner since the early 1990s. Hogue has brought innovation and leadership to the conference.
Tom Di Camillo, who spent 17 years as the sports information director at Division II West Chester University of Pennsylvania, is now in his third year as assistant commissioner for media relations for the league. Di Camillo is based in suburban Phoenix, giving the conference a presence on the Mainland.
Wayne Coito, who served as an intern in the conference for a year, began his term as the compliance and external affairs director this summer.
