SAN BRUNO, Calif. ---- The West Coast Conference and Orleans Arena announced today a three-year contract extension that will keep the WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships in Las Vegas through 2012.
The extension comes after the West Coast Conference sold out the Orleans Arena for the 2009 WCC Basketball Championships. The 2009 championship, which was the WCC's first-ever at a neutral site, set conference records for both total championship attendance (33,320) and single session championship attendance (7,845).
The agreement will bring the WCC Basketball Championships to the Orleans Arena on March 5-8 of 2010, March 4-7 of 2011, and March 2-5 of 2012.
The 2010 WCC Championships will feature the same format as the 2009 event, with a combined total of 14 men's and women's games over four days. Tickets for the 2010 championship will go on sale to the general public on Friday, November 13.
"We are thrilled about the return of the WCC to the Orleans Arena and look forward to again hosting their conference championship in 2010, 2011 and 2012," said Darren Davis, Orleans Arena Executive Director. "The Orleans Arena has established itself as the leading neutral site college basketball venue in Las Vegas and we are very proud of our success and look forward to the fantastic seasons ahead."
The Gonzaga Bulldogs won the 2009 WCC Men's Basketball Championship by defeating the Saint Mary's Gaels 83-58. In addition to being played in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,845 at the Orleans Arena, the game was seen in nearly 1.1 million homes on ESPN, was carried on over 125 stations on the Westwood One Radio Network, and was also heard live on Sirius Satellite Radio.
In the 2009 WCC Women's Basketball Championship, Gonzaga claimed the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 66-55 win over defending champion San Diego in a game that was nationally televised by ESPNU.
The WCC, in conjunction with the Orleans Arena, also launched the WCC Hall of Honor and the Zappos.com/Soles4Souls Shoe Drive at the 2009 championships.
The inaugural WCC Hall of Honor class of Frank Burgess, Hank Gathers, Doug Christie, Clive Charles, Tom Meschery, Bernie Bickerstaff, Joe Ellis and Carroll Williams was inducted prior to Saturday's quarterfinal games. The 2010 WCC Hall of Honor brunch will be held on Saturday, March 6, 2010, and tickets to the brunch will go on sale to the public this winter.
The Zappos.com/Soles4Souls Shoe Drive was a season-long initiative during the 2008-09 basketball campaign that resulted in the donation of over 5,200 pairs shoes both domestically (to the Clark County School District and Las Vegas After School All-Star Program) and internationally. The WCC, Zappos.com and Soles4Souls will team up for the shoe drive again in 2010 with the event culminating before the women's basketball championship game on Monday, March 8.
2010 WCC Basketball Championships Calendar
(game/event times TBA) Friday, March 5 Opening Round Games
Saturday, March 6 Hall of Honor Brunch
Saturday, March 6 Quarterfinals
Sunday, March 7 Semifinals
Monday, March 8 WCC/Soles4Souls Shoe Drive powered by Zappos.com
Monday, March 8 Championship Games
About the West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference was formed in 1952 and has evolved and grown to become a nationally recognized and competitive force in Division I intercollegiate athletics, with 13 conference-sponsored sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's rowing, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball. The WCC is characterized by the stability of its membership - only two conferences have been together longer - and its unique emphasis on combining excellence in athletics with excellence in academics.
