National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jun 17, 2010 4:23:39 PM

Utah became the 12th member of the Pacific-10 Conference Thursday, a week after Colorado joined the expanding league. The move takes effect for the 2011-12 academic year.

The school's Board of Directors unanimously approved the switch from the Mountain West Conference, which will provide the Utes with an opportunity to play for an automatic bid to a Bowl Championship Series game.

"This is an absolutely great day to be a Ute," said Athletics Director Chris Hill.

The move provides the Pac-10 with enough members to stage a championship game in football.

"The addition of the University of Utah as the conference's 12th member continues to strengthen the Pac-10's goals of becoming the country's leader in college athletics," said Commissioner Larry Scott. "Utah is a great academic and athletic fit, and we are thrilled to welcome them to the Pac-10."

Utah's football team is 12-11 against current Pac-10 teams since 1994. Utah and UCLA have combined to win more than half of the NCAA women's gymnastics team championships, and the Utah men's basketball team defeated Arizona to reach the Final Four in 1998.

The move is the latest in a string of conference affiliation changes made in the last week, beginning with Colorado and including Boise State's move to the Mountain West and Nebraska going to the Big Ten.