The Pac-12 Conference Council and Athletics Directors Committee, on recommendation from the league’s head coaches, approved a change to the format of the men’s basketball schedule at its annual spring meetings on Thursday. The men’s league schedule will increase to 20 games beginning with the 2020-21 season.
“We continually work with our membership to identify strategic initiatives which can lead to future success in Pac-12 Men’s Basketball. We believe moving to a 20-game schedule will lead to more competitive schedules and help our programs and league achieve our goals of enhancing the Pac-12 basketball brand and preparation for postseason play,” said Pac-12 Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Jamie Zaninovich.
The Council and ADC also voted to approve the head coaches’ recommendation to place the two additional Conference contests in the months of November and December with strong preference for weekend dates when students are on campus.
“Strategic scheduling – both conference and non-conference – are critical to the strength and well-being of any league,” said Oregon State Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Barnes, who currently serves as ADC liaison to the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball head coaches and was chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Committee in 2015. “Our Athletics Directors, head coaches and league administrators are all in alignment that an increase to 20 Conference games is the best course of action for our league moving forward.”
“Changing to a 20-game Conference schedule will improve the strength of schedule for all 12 teams and that’s very important for the overall success of the league,” said Oregon head coach Dana Altman, the active Conference leader and 29th in NCAA Division I history with 645 career victories. “It will also be really positive for the fans because each team will get to play 10 Pac-12 games at home.”
Further details regarding the transition to the 20-game schedule will be announced at a later date. As part of the Pac-12’s new basketball strategic plan, the Conference will be discussing non-conference scheduling standards at its upcoming CEO meeting.
The Conference’s current annual rotation model will remain in place for the 2019-20 campaign and feature the following home and road matchups:
Arizona/Arizona State
Home: ASU, ORE, OSU, UCLA, USC, WASH, WSU, COLO, UTAH
Road: ASU, ORE, OSU, UCLA, USC, WASH, WSU, CAL, STAN
California/Stanford
Home: COLO, ORE, OSU, STAN, UTAH, WASH, WSU, ARIZ, ASU
Road: COLO, ORE, OSU, STAN, UTAH, WASH, WSU, UCLA, USC
Colorado/Utah
Home: CAL, ORE, OSU, STAN, UCLA, USC, UTAH, WASH, WSU
Road: CAL, ORE, OSU, STAN, UCLA, USC, UTAH, ARIZ, ASU
Oregon/Oregon State
Home: ARIZ, ASU, CAL, COLO, OSU, STAN, UTAH, UCLA, USC
Road: ARIZ, ASU, CAL, COLO, OSU, STAN, UTAH, WASH, WSU
UCLA/USC
Home: ARIZ, ASU, COLO, UCLA, UTAH, WASH, WSU, CAL, STAN
Road: ARIZ, ASU, COLO, UCLA, UTAH, WASH, WSU, ORE, OSU
Washington/Washington State
Home: ARIZ, ASU, CAL, STAN, UCLA, USC, WSU, ORE, OSU
Road: ARIZ, ASU, CAL, STAN, UCLA, USC, WSU, COLO, UTAH
The Pac-12 Conference provided the information for this story.
