Big West Conference

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Big West schools produced outstanding team and individual achievements, and a number of firsts, during an exciting 2008-09 campaign that commemorated the conference's 40th anniversary. The fall sports season witnessed a series of firsts in men's soccer. A record four squads participated in the NCAA Tournament, led by No. 14 seed UC Irvine. The Anteaters won the inaugural Big West Tournament to capture the conference's automatic bid and the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Cal Poly joined UCI as another first-time invitee to the postseason dance. UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara completed the quartet of Big West representatives. UCI earned a first round bye and a second round win against Cal Poly to secure a spot in the Sweet 16, marking the sixth straight year a Big West team advanced at least that far in the postseason. The season also featured a Big West record crowd of 11,075 that showed up to Cal Poly's Spanos Stadium October 17 for a nationally televised contest. Women's soccer delved into some uncharted territory as Long Beach State made its inaugural NCAA Tournament appearance and UC Santa Barbara won the Big West Tournament title for the first time. That gave the league two postseason representatives for only the second time in history. Both the 49ers and Gauchos bowed out in tough first round matchups, but held spots in the national top 25 for parts of the season. In women's volleyball, Long Beach State continued a proud tradition of success in winning its league-best ninth Big West championship. The 49ers, under newly inducted Hall of Fame Coach Brian Gimmillaro, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The season also featured UC Santa Barbara's Kathy Gregory becoming just the sixth coach in NCAA history to surpass the 800 career win plateau. Cross country figured into the success equation as well in 2008. The Cal Poly men collected their third consecutive at-large invite to the NCAA Championships on the strength of a seventh place finish at the formidable West Regional meet. Cal Poly extended its dominance on the conference circuit, winning a Big West record sixth straight championship. On the women's side, the season was highlighed by a pair of UC Davis runners - Kim Conley and Kaitlin Gregg - performing well enough at regionals to earn at-large invitations to the NCAA Championship. The UC Riverside women accomplished a first for its program as champions at the Big West meet. Transitioning into the winter sports season, men's basketball ushered in a fresh face to the NCAA Tournament in Cal State Northridge. The Matadors made their first NCAA appearance in their eight-year tenure as a Big West member, overcoming numerous adversities along the way. CSUN captured its first outright league regular season title and translated that success into more at the league tournament. The Matadors ousted UC Santa Barbara and Pacific in Anaheim to punch their ticket to the NCAA's. Pacific gave the Big West two postseason entries when the Tigers were invited to compete in the inaugural 16-team CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The Tigers won a pair of games to advance all the way to the semifinals. The women's basketball season netted a pair of postseason partcipants in UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside. The Gauchos captured both the regular season and tournament titles, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 15 seed. UCSB extended its postseason streak (11 NCAA, 3 WNIT) to 14 straight seasons. The Highlanders made an appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament behind the efforts of senior center Kemie Nkele, who finished her career the Big West's sixth all-time leading scorer with 2,062 points. Cal Poly also tied the single-season program record with 21 victories. UC Santa Barbara dominated the pool in wi