Conferences: The Pacific West Conference, a 16-team league that spreads from New Mexico to Hawaii, will split into two conferences effective July 1, 2001. Pending ratification by the Pacific West Conference executive council, officials approved the withdrawal of 10 of its 16 members October 4 in Seattle. The 10 withdrawing institutions will form their own conference. They are the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Central Washington University, Humboldt State University, Northwest Nazarene University, Saint Martin's College, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Western Oregon University and Western Washington University. The remaining six universities will continue as members of the PacWest Conference: Montana State University-Billings, Western New Mexico University, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific University, the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Chaminade University. "The Pacific West Conference has been great, but the logistics and divisional structure made it very challenging for all of us," said Western Oregon athletics director Jon Carey. "We have a greater deal of community with this group of 10." Carey said the proposed name for the new conference is the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Milestones: Jan Hutchinson, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, 400 victories as field hockey coach at Bloomsburg. Hutchinson, the NCAA's all-time leader in field hockey wins at any level, is now 401-54-20 in her 23 years as head coach. The Huskies also have won four consecutive NCAA Division II field hockey championships and nine overall titles in her career. Hutchinson also has 806 softball wins, giving her 1,207 victories as a collegiate head coach, the most of any female coach in NCAA history...Tina Patterson, University of the Incarnate Word, 100 coaching victories in women's soccer. Her winning percentage of .699 places her in the top five active coaches in Division II.

Miscellaneous: Longwood College has unveiled a new athletics logo, replacing a logo that has been used since 1982. The new logo features a medieval figure on horseback with a raised jousting pole. The logo is designed in a semi-circle with the bold scripted word "Lancers" incorporated into the figure and horse. The icon represents competition and presents an image of forward movement, according to athletics director Don Lemish. "Nine different variations were first presented to us," said Lemish. "We took the best of each of the things we liked and had them incorporated into the final design. It was important that the final logo represent the quality and progressiveness of the institution and athletics. It needed to have strength and movement while being somewhat simplistic. Very importantly, it had to have marketability as an identifier of Longwood College intercollegiate sports."