This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It appears that BYU will no longer be the newcomer in the West Coast Conference. A report in the Stockton Record newspaper says that the University of Pacific could be invited to join the WCC as early as today. Pacific is in Stockton, Calif., and has competed recently in the Big West Conference. It's admission would give the WCC 10 members, after BYU became the ninth member last year. The Tigers would become a WCC member for the 2013-14 school year, according to the newspaper. Pacific was actually a member of the WCC from 1952-71. A news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. MST today, reports Jagdip Dhillon of the Stockton Record. Like the WCC's other nine members, Pacific is a faith-based institution. It was founded by a group of Methodist ministers. If admitted, Pacific would have the second-largest basketball arena in the WCC. The Spanos Center seats 6,150, second only to BYU's Marriott Center, which seats 22,700.