March 8, 2005

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - West Coast Conference Commissioner Michael Gilleran announced on Monday that the 2006 WCC Basketball Championships will be held at Gonzaga University, while the 2007 championship will be held at the University of Portland.

"We're excited that both Gonzaga University and the University of Portland will have the opportunity to host the conference's marquee event," said Gilleran. "Both Spokane and Portland will serve as excellent host sites for WCC basketball fans. The staffs at Gonzaga and Portland are both highly competent and experienced, and I'm confident they will manage an exciting event."

The dates for the 2006 tournament will be March 2-6, 2006, and the dates for the 2007 tournament will be March 1-5, 2007.

In 2003, the WCC Executive Committee decided to rotate the conference's premier event between the league's three West regions on a two-year basis. With the 2005 WCC Tournament championship game tipping off at 9:00 pm (PST) on Monday evening, the Bay Area's two-year stint will be complete.

The 2006 and 2007 WCC Tournaments will be held in the Pacific Northwest before moving to Southern California in 2008 and 2009 and back to the Bay Area in 2010 and 2011. The 2006 and 2007 tournaments will be the league's 20th and 21st annual event.

The WCC Tournament has been held in the Pacific Northwest on only one other occasion. The 1992 tournament was held at the University of Portland, with Pepperdine University edging Gonzaga University, 73-70, in the championship game. In 2003, the University of San Diego became the first-ever host institution to win the men's tournament, while the Santa Clara University women's team captured the 2005 tournament title.