Northern Pacific Conference

The Northern Pacific Conference was a name for two collegiate athletic conferences in the western United States. The first was for college baseball (1975–1981) and the second was a women's collegiate athletic conference made up of teams in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. That league was formed in 1982, at the same time that the NCAA became the sole sponsor of major-college women's sports. Members had previously competed in the NorCal Conference and the northwest region of the AIAW. The Northern Pacific Conference met its demise in 1986–87, when the Pac-10 Conference began sponsoring women's sports.

See also: Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference

Baseball

The Northern Pacific Conference (Nor-Pac) was formed for baseball for the 1975 season and comprised the NCAA programs in the Northwest not in the Pacific-8 Conference.[1][2][3] The Big Sky Conference had dropped sponsorship of the sport after the 1974 season,[4][5] and its three remaining baseball programs (Gonzaga, Idaho, Boise State) joined Portland State, Portland, Seattle U., and Puget Sound.[1][2][3][6][7] An eighth team, Eastern Washington, was added after the 1979 season.[8][9][10]

Idaho and Boise State dropped varsity baseball after the 1980 season,[11][12] as did Seattle U., and the five-team Nor-Pac played a seventh and final season in 1981.[10] Puget Sound dropped its program and the remaining four (GU, EWU, PSU, UP) joined the Northern division of the Pac-10 (as affiliate members, baseball only) for 1982;[13][14][15] Oregon also discontinued baseball after 1981,[16][17] which had left just three teams (Washington, Washington State, and Oregon State). In the Pac-10, the champion of the seven-team Northern division met the runner-up of the stronger six-team Southern division in a best-of-three series for the conference's second berth in the NCAA tournament.

Eastern Washington dropped baseball in 1990,[18][19] and Portland State eight years later; after 1995, Gonzaga and Portland moved their baseball to the West Coast Conference (WCC), where their other sports were.[20] Baseball returned at Oregon in 2009,[21] Seattle U. in 2010, and Boise State in 2020.

Champions
YearChampionRunner-upMembersNotes
1975Puget SoundGonzaga7[22]
1976GonzagaBoise State7[23]
1977Portland StateGonzaga7[24]
1978GonzagaPortland State7[25]
1979PortlandPortland State7[26]
1980GonzagaPortland8[27]
1981Gonzaga (4)E. Washington5[28][29]

Women's sports

The Northern Pacific Conference began competition in all women's sports for the 1982–83 season. Members included former NorCal Conference members California, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pacific, Fresno State, and San Jose State, as well as northwestern division schools Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, and Washington State. The move for a new women's athletic conference was necessitated by the movement of NorCal member Stanford to the women's only Western Collegiate Athletic Association (WCAA), as well as the lack of sponsorship for women's sports by the Pac-10, PCAA, and WCAC conferences.

After their second season in the league, Pacific moved its women's sports to the new women's version of the PCAA. The next year Santa Clara and San Francisco followed Pacific out the door, as they joined the WCAC's new women's sports division. This left the league with just seven schools for what would was its final season. With the WCAA also hit by defections, the Pac-10 began sponsoring women's championships for the 1986–87 season. The departure of the five Pac-10 schools left only San Jose State and Fresno State in the league; both moved their women's sports to the PCAA, aligning themselves with the schools' men's teams.

Membership history
UniversityYearsNext
Conference
California1982–86Pac-10
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
Fresno StatePCAA
San Jose State
San Francisco1982–85WCAC
Santa Clara
Pacific1982–84
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References
  1. "Idaho, Gonzaga join new baseball circuit". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. June 24, 1974. p. 16.
  2. "Portland State, Portland to play in baseball league". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). Associated Press. June 24, 1974. p. 12.
  3. Jordan, Jeff (January 19, 1975). "Idea's time has arrived". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 3, sports.
  4. "Idaho off probation, loop titles dwindle". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). May 5, 1974. p. 13.
  5. "Baseball axed in Big Sky". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). May 29, 1974. p. 15.
  6. "Vandals boast vets for baseball season". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 12, 1975. p. 13.
  7. "Baseball: College - Northern Pacific". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). May 1, 1979. p. 25.
  8. "EWU baseball team joins Nor-Pac league". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). June 6, 1979. p. 1B.
  9. "Baseball: College - NorPac standings". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). May 7, 1980. p. B5.
  10. "Baseball: Northern Pacific". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). (standings). May 16, 1981. p. 13.
  11. "Boise State drops baseball program". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. May 6, 1980. p. C1.
  12. Goodwin, Dale (May 13, 1980). "Baseball's 'out' at Idaho". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 19.
  13. Van Sickel, Charlie (May 30, 1981). "Nor-Pac League dead; schools to join Pac-10". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 12.
  14. "Pac-10 merger confirmed". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). August 14, 1981. p. 24.
  15. Rodman, Bob (August 14, 1981). "Expanded ND baseball appears ready to roll". Eugene-Register Guard. (Oregon). p. 3B.
  16. Rodman, Bob (May 7, 1981). "A gloomy day for Ducks' oldest program". Eugene-Register Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
  17. "UO axes baseball, gymnastics". Eugene-Register Guard. (Oregon). May 7, 1981. p. 1C.
  18. Boling, Dave (May 31, 1990). "Baseball, wrestling to go at EWU". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. C1.
  19. "EWU cuts two sports; audit ends". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). June 19, 1990. p. C1.
  20. Bergum, Steve (May 3, 1995). "Gonzaga leaving Pac-10 North". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C3.
  21. "University of Oregon is bringing back baseball". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). Associated Press. July 14, 2007. p. 1B.
  22. "WSU, UPs picked for NCAA action". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 19, 1975. p. 17.
  23. "Idaho leaves cellar; Cougs triumph, too". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 12, 1976. p. 37.
  24. "Northern Pacific baseball final standings". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 9, 1977. p. 19.
  25. "Warriors in regionals, Zags gain title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 18, 1978. p. 53.
  26. "Northern Pacific standings". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, California). May 10, 1979. p. 42.
  27. "Zags, Cougs, Bucs first". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 12, 1980. p. 21.
  28. "Zags bucking big odds tonight". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 22, 1981. p. 21.
  29. "Northern Pacific final standings". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 19, 1981. p. 19.
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