Another Stellar Year For Big West Conference In 2005-06

UC Riverside women's basketball earned its first berth to the Big Dance during the 2005-06 season.

The 2005-06 campaign proved successful once again for the Big West Conference with 20 teams continuing play well into the postseason, which included 11 NCAA automatic bids, eight NCAA at-large berths and one WNIT bid. In addition, six of the seven round robin sports (women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball) sent multiple teams to the postseason, with softball leading the way with three. This season all eight schools represented the Big West in postseason play in at least one sport.

The year was highlighted by the Cal State Fullerton baseball team making its 14th trip to the College World Series and the Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team and Cal State Northridge men's soccer team both advancing to the third round (Sweet 16) of the NCAA Championship.

The Titan baseball squad, one of two Big West programs making the tournament, would battle its way to the Final Four before being eliminated by the North Carolina Tar Heels, ending its attempt for the fifth National Championship in school history. Cal State Fullerton's Friday-night starter, Wes Roemer, was tabbed Collegiate Baseball Co-National Player of the Year with outfielder Kellen Kulbacki of James Madison. Wes Roemer becomes the second Big West player in the last three seasons to earn the prestigious honor. UC Irvine received a NCAA at-large bid for the Anteaters' second visit to the postseason in the past three years.

Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside received bids to the 2005 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship, marking the first time that two teams were selected to the postseason in the Big West's 10-year history of sponsoring the sport. The Titans also established another first for the conference in earning the right to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Titan Stadium.

Cal State Fullerton advanced to the third round for the first time in school and conference history, while UC Riverside was eliminated after the first round. Big West finished fourth out of 30 conferences in the season-ending Women's Soccer Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), which is an all-time best for the league and continues a trend of improvement, following finishes at No. 14 in 2002, No. 12 in 2003 and No. 10 in 2004.

On the men's side, Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara were chosen to participate in the 2005 Division I NCAA Soccer Championship. The Matadors received a first-round bye before winning their first Division I postseason game and knocking off conference foe UCSB to advance to the third round. UC Santa Barbara shut-out San Diego State, 2-0, before facing CSUN in the second round.

Representing the Big West in the 2005 Volleyball NCAA Tournament were Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. The tradition-rich Gauchos are tied with Stanford and Penn State for the most consecutive postseason appearances with 25, while the 49ers aren't far behind at 19 straight trips to the tournament.

While men's and women's basketball each sent one team to the NCAA Tournament, with Pacific (men) and UC Riverside (women), the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara earned a berth to the WNIT, extending their streak of postseason play to 11 years. The Tigers (24-8), who compiled three straight 20-plus win seasons for the first time in school history, earned the conference’s automatic bid after defeating Long Beach State in the Big West Men's Tournament. On the women's side, the Highlanders received the league's automatic bid after defeating nine-time defending tournament champion UC Santa Barbara, 59-58, sending them to Big Dance for the first time in school history.

Big West softball finished up another solid season with three representatives in the NCAA Championship. Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara continued the league's trend of sending multiple teams to the postseason, a string that has not been unbroken in all 22 years the Big West has sponsored the sport. Although all three schools were ousted in the NCAA Regionals, the Big West remained one of the top softball conferences in the nation thanks to its strength from top to bottom. Six of the seven members posted winning records.

The Long Beach State women and UC Santa Barbara men earned the conference's automatic qualifiers for the 2006 NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships. Long Beach State made its third consecutive NCAA appearance and fourth overall, while UC Santa Barbara appeared in its sixth NCAA Tournament. Joining the 49er and Gaucho squads were Pacific senior Arnar Sigurdsson and Long Beach State freshmen Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks, who earned entries into the 64-person 2006 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Individual Tennis Championships.

Men's and women's golf also contributed to the conference's grand total of postseason participants, each grabbing two bids. On the women's side, UC Irvine, making its third team appearance in just five years of the program's existence, earned the conference's automatic bid to regionals based on winning the Big West Championship. Long Beach State's selection as an at-large bid to the 21-team regional field is a first-time accomplishment for the program.

The Cal Poly and UC Irvine men's golf teams represented the Big West at the NCAA West Regional, while Long Beach State junior Ryan Wood competed for the Big West as an individual. Cal Poly earned the conference's automatic, while the Anteaters received an at-large bid for their fifth trip in six years.

Individually, the Big West enjoyed another impressive season with a total of 29 student-athletes competing in the NCAA finals (18 track & field, 7 swimming & diving, 2 women's tennis, 1 men's golf, 1 men's tennis). Of those athletes, eight returned home with All-America status. As a whole (round robin and individual), the Big West garnered 20 All-America honors in nine different sports. Men's and women's track & field nabbed six national accolades, with baseball a close second with five honorees. Student-athletes competing in volleyball, softball, men's and women's soccer and men's and women's swimming & diving were also tabbed with All-America status.