The Commissioner's Report

Commissioner highlights PacWest Achievements during the 2008-09 year

(The following report was presented by PacWest Commissioner Bob Hogue during the recent PacWest meetings in Anaheim, CA)

ANAHIEM, CA - The 2008-09 athletic season was a year of firsts for the Pacific West Conference.

For the first time in a number of years, the PacWest received an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II National post-season tournaments for its champions. That meant spots was reserved for the BYU-Hawaii women's volleyball team, the Grand Canyon and BYU-Hawaii men's and women's basketball squads, respectively, the Hawai‘i Pacific softball club, and BYU-Hawaii women's soccer.

Just consider our many accomplishments in this incredible year of firsts!

For the first time ever, one of our softball teams won the prestigious Tournament of Champions - a mid-season tourney comprised of the powerhouse softball teams in the West Region - when HPU won the gold medal division. To add to our luster, Grand Canyon won the silver medal division, and Hawai‘i Hilo finished as runner-up in the bronze.

If that wasn't enough in softball, Dixie State won the NCAA II West sub-regional and super-regional, and became the first team from the new PacWest to reach the national tournament, affectionately known as the Division II Women's College World Series.

Also, two of our teams - Hawai‘i Pacific and Hawai‘i Hilo - defeated eventual national champion Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania during the regular season, actually accounting for four of the Bald Eagles' six losses on the year.

In baseball, we held our first-ever conference race, with Dixie State edging out HPU for the inaugural championship trophy on the very last day of an exciting season. We also staged the first-ever PacWest Little World Series with Dixie State outlasting Grand Canyon in a thrilling finale.

Another first happened in men's soccer where Notre Dame de Namur beat the second-ranked team in the nation, Sonoma State, and earned a first-ever NCAA II Tournament bid for the Argonauts.

In men's golf, for the first time ever, three teams from the PacWest qualified for regionals - Grand Canyon, Hawai‘i and Dixie State - while Grand Canyon made it to nationals. A brand new member to the conference - Academy of Art - saw one of its golfers win the individual title at the PacWest Men's Golf Championships in Northern California.

In cross country, HPU became the first team to three-peat as the Sea Warriors y captured the men's cross country conference title for the third year in a row.

In women's basketball, Grand Canyon became the first team in the new PacWest to qualify for the NCAA II Regionals, while BYU-Hawaii qualified for the national tournament in women's soccer. Both schools repeated as conference champions, but this year's title meant so much more.

In men's basketball, BYU-Hawaii was not only the number one-ranked team in the West, but also the third-ranked team in the entire nation. The Seasiders reached the men's regional championship game for the second year in a row.

Also, Chaminade and Dixie State played the first-ever conference game that was nationally televised when they matched up on CBS College TV in early January.

Then, there were the individual honors. For the first time in conference history, a PacWest player was named Daktronics National Player of the Year, as well as first-team All-American in men's basketball. Lucas Alves, the two-time PacWest Player of the Year from BYU-Hawaii, took home the honors after averaging 20 points and nearly eight rebounds a game during a 25-1 regular season.

Meanwhile, senior Seasider Latoya Wily became the first PacWest player ever named first-team All-American in women's basketball. The former Kahuku High School star was one of the top scorers and rebounders in the nation, finishing at 26 points and 14 rebounds a game - a combination of numbers that are almost unheard of at any level.

All-American honors also were plentiful for the BYU-Hawaii women's tennis team, which was ranked number one in the nation. Undefeated Elwen Li, along with Yuan Jia, Jenny Chin, and Wen-Lin Wang, all were named to the prestigious All-American squad after leading the Seasiders to a third-place finish in the national tournament.

With all of those All-Americans, perhaps it's not surprising in this year of firsts that BYU-Hawaii won its first Commissioner's Cup, emblematic of the best overall year in conference athletics.

The Seasiders won no less than five conference titles - winning in women's volleyball, women's soccer, women's cross country, men's basketball, and women's tennis. HPU finished a close second in the overall point total, with defending Commissioner's Cup winner Hawai‘i Hilo placed third and Dixie State fourth.

Other firsts - Dixie State won its first PacWest Community Engagement Award with terrific involvement by its SAAC Committee. Chaminade was last year's winner.

We're looking forward to our PacWest Academic Achievement Award winner, announced this summer. Notre Dame de Namur is the defending champion.

Without a doubt, it was a great year for the conference - and it promises to be even better next year when we expand to nine member schools with the addition of Dominican University of California and Academy of Art.

We hope you'll join us on our continuing journey to success, as we make "first" a true part of our name.

Go PacWest!