Dec. 1, 2011

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SAN BRUNO, Calif. -- The West Coast Conference announced today the addition of California State University Bakersfield as an affiliate member in the sport of women's golf, beginning with the 2012-13 season. The addition gives the WCC the minimum six teams required to receive an automatic qualification to the NCAA Women's Golf Championships.

"We are pleased to have CSU Bakersfield become a West Coast Conference affiliate member in women's golf," WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said. "We're excited to add an affiliate member in a sport that continues to expand its profile nationally and look forward to the Roadrunners' arrival for the 2012-13 season."

CSU Bakersfield will make its debut as an affiliate member at the 2013 WCC Golf Championships on April 15-17 at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington.

"This is a great opportunity for our women's golf program to join a conference of such high caliber like the West Coast Conference," said CSU Bakersfield Director of Athletics Jeff Konya. "This is another example of putting our student-athletes in the best position to compete for championships and we are optimistic about the direction of our women's golf program with a new coach on board and now a new conference to call home next season."

The West Coast Conference began sponsoring women's golf during the 1996-97 school year with four charter members - Gonzaga University, Pepperdine University, the University of San Francisco and Santa Clara University. The Conference has since brought Brigham Young University into the fold in 2011-12 and CSU Bakersfield will replace Seattle University as the sixth member after SU moves to the Western Athletic Conference following the 2011-12 season.

Pepperdine won its 10th straight West Coast Conference Women's Golf Championship, and 13th in the last 15 years, in 2010-11 at San Juan Oaks Golf Club in Hollister, California. Pepperdine won the title from 1998-2000 and 2002-11, and the University of San Francisco took top honors in 1997 and 2001. The 2012 WCC Golf Championships will be held April 16-18 at San Juan Oaks.

About the West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference was formed in 1952 and has evolved and grown to become a nationally recognized and competitive force in Division I intercollegiate athletics, with 13 conference-sponsored sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball. The WCC is characterized by the stability of its membership and its unique emphasis on combining excellence in athletics with excellence in academics.

About CSU Bakersfield
CSU Bakersfield opened in September 1970 as the 19th member of the 23-campus California State University system. It is located on a 375-acre site in metropolitan Bakersfield in California's San Joaquin Valley and is home to nearly 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students. CSUB Athletics successfully completed the NCAA Division I reclassification process in the Spring of 2010 and is currently in its second season of championship eligibility as an NCAA Division I Program.