Nov. 15, 2001
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball program will open its 80th season of competition Saturday when the Broncos face the University of the Pacific at the Leavey Center. Despite limited seating due to renovation, tickets remain available for the 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
For tickets, contact the Santa Clara athletic ticket office at 408/554-4660 or click here to purchase online. A variety of single game, season, family and group plans are available.
The game will be broadcast live via the Bronco Radio Network, which consists of KDIA-AM (1640) in Vallejo, Calif., KSCU-FM (103.3) in Santa Clara and on the official athletic website for Santa Clara athletics at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. The site will also feature a live GameTracker that displays real-time statistical coverage and play-by-play directly from the courtside scoring computer.
The series between Santa Clara and Pacific goes back to the second-ever game played by the Santa Clara Missionites in 1905. There is no record of a score of the game but the two teams did meet a year later, splitting a pair of contests. The Missionites took a hard-fought 7-6 contest before dropping a 10-4 decision later in the short three-game season.
The overall series shows the Broncos with a commanding 82-36 lead. However, recently the two teams have been much more even with each winning on its home court in the last six contests. The last time Pacific won at Santa Clara was a 67-61 decision at Toso Pavilion in 1985. The Broncos are 8-1 against Pacific in the last nine meetings at Santa Clara.
Bronco head coach Dick Davey is a 1964 graduate of the Stockton school and was a three-year letterwinner for coaches Van Sweet and Dick Edwards. While a player, Davey didn't fare well against the Broncos, losing five of the seven meetings between the two schools. As a head coach, he is 4-3 against his alma mater.
There is a long history between Santa Clara and the University of the Pacific. In 1851 the two schools were founded just a couple of miles apart. Pacific (then known as California Wesleyan College) was located in Santa Clara before moving 20 years later to a site in San Jose and becoming the state's first co-educational campus. In 1925, California Wesleyan moved to Stockton and Bellarmine Prep, which was founded as a secondary school that was part of Santa Clara University took over the campus at the intersection of University and Elm.
Recently, the two schools have enjoyed a rivalry in several intercollegiate sports. The Broncos volleyball team owns a two-match win streak over the traditionally-strong Tigers, while the Santa Clara women's basketball team has won seven of the last nine meetings between the two schools dating back to 1990.