More power to the Pac-10
June 4th, 2008, 11:59 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Zeiger
Arizona State’s national softball title padded the Pac-10’s championship resume. (Ralph Freso/Tribune)
The Pac-10 likes to call itself the “conference of champions,” a moniker that especially fits in 2007-08.
Arizona State’s triumph at the Women’s College World Series on Tuesday was the conference’s 13th national title of this academic year, putting it one shy of tying the all-time record for a league, which was set by the Pac-10 in 1996-97.
With five championships this academic year, the Big Ten is a distant second among conferences.
Three NCAA titles — baseball and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field — have yet to be decided. The Pac-10 has three schools left (Arizona, ASU and Stanford) in the baseball tournament, and ASU, Southern California and UCLA will be among the contenders at the men’s and women’s track nationals.
The Sun Devils won both indoor track titles in March. The other Pac-10 champions are Arizona in men’s and women’s swimming; California in men’s water polo; Oregon in men’s cross country; Stanford in women’s cross country; UCLA in men’s golf, women’s tennis and women’s water polo and USC in women’s golf and women’s soccer.
ASU will collect 100 points from the softball title as it eyes its highest-ever finish in the U.S. Sports Academy Director’s Cup standings. The most recent standings were released on May 29, with ASU in 13th place with 762 points.
The next standings are unveiled on June 11, with the final numbers out on June 26. ASU’s best finish is ninth, in 2000-01.
Stanford leads with 1,348 points and is a lock for its 14th straight Cup title. Five of the top 13 schools are from the Pac-10, as California (881 points) is sixth, UCLA (875 points) seventh and USC (787.5 points) 10th.
