Oct. 13, 2008

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will serve as the host site for the 2008 WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Media Day. The event will take place on Wednesday, October 15th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. (PT). Fans can watch live coverage of the event as well as view exclusive on-demand coaches interviews for free at WCCsports.com. Click here to watch exclusive coverage of the 2008 WCC Basketball Media Day.

The moderated program gets underway at 1:00 p.m. (PT) with the unveiling of the 2008-09 WCC men's and women's preseason coaches polls as well as the WCC preseason all-conference teams. Later in the day one-on-one interviews with all 16 WCC head coaches will be available for free on-demand viewing.

October 15th also serves as the first day that tickets will go on sale to the public as tickets will be available for purchase at 11:00 a.m. (PT). To purchase tickets or find more information about the 2009 WCC Basketball Championships, fans are encouraged to visit wccsports.com. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the Orleans Arena Box Office at 1-888-234-2334.

Last season, the West Coast Conference advanced a record three schools into the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. San Diego, which defeated Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, received the automatic bid by virtue of winning the WCC Tournament, while Gonzaga and Saint Mary's each received at-large selections. On a percentage basis, the WCC qualified 37.5 percent of its teams for the NCAA Tournament, which ranked fifth in the nation behind only the Pac-10, Big East, Big 12 and the SEC.

The 2007-08 women's basketball season was also a success as the WCC finished with the highest RPI of any non-BCS conference. The women's season concluded with third-seeded San Diego defeating top-seeded Gonzaga 70-66 in the championship game of the West Coast Conference Tournament to advance to its first NCAA Tournament in eight years. The conference also earned two post-season bids for the 10th straight year as Gonzaga advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

2008 WCC Men's & Women's Basketball Media Day Schedule of Events
1:00 p.m. - 1:10 p.m.    Welcome Address (Darren Davis, Orleans Arena/Jamie Zaninovich, WCC Commissioner)
1:10 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.    Group #1 (San Diego and Loyola Marymount head coaches)
1:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.    Group #2 (Pepperdine and Santa Clara head coaches)
1:50 p.m. - 2:10 p.m.    Group #3 (San Francisco and Saint Mary's head coaches)
2:10 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.    Group #4 (Portland and Gonzaga head coaches)