The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.
The West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament is the annual concluding tournament for the NCAA college basketball in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The winner of the tournament each year is guaranteed a place in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for that season. Through 2008, the tournament was played on a rotating basis at the home courts of member teams. The 2009 edition was the first played at a neutral site, namely Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas. The semifinals are broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and the championship is broadcast nationally on ESPN.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are an intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Gonzaga Bulldogs play home basketball games at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington, on the university campus.
The 2011–12 West Coast Conference men's basketball season begins with practices in October 2011 and ends with the 2012 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament from February 29- March 5, 2012 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The regular season begins on the weekend of November 11, with the conference schedule starting on December 29.
The 2012 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was held February 29 though March 5 at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas area community of Paradise, Nevada.
The 2013 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 6–11, 2013 at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada. Gonzaga, which entered the tournament as the top-ranked team in both major polls, claimed the school's 12th tournament title overall and 10th under current head coach Mark Few.
The 2014 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 6–11, 2014 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. This was the sixth consecutive year the WCC Tournament took place in Vegas after the WCC and the Orleans reached a 3-year extension to keep the tournament in Vegas through 2016.
The 2013 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was held March 6–11, 2013, at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas area community of Paradise, Nevada.
The 2014 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was held March 6–11, 2014, at Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas Valley community of Paradise, Nevada. This was the sixth consecutive year the WCC Tournament took place in Vegas after the WCC and the Orleans Hotel and Casino, which operates the arena, reached a 3-year extension to keep the tournament in Vegas through 2016.
Lisa Mispley Fortier is an American basketball coach, currently the head coach of the women's basketball team at Gonzaga University.
The 2015–16 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 17th season as head coach. The team played its home games at McCarthey Athletic Center, which had a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs played in their 36th season as a member of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 28–8, 15–3 in WCC play to finish in a share for the WCC regular season championship. They defeated Portland, BYU, and Saint Mary's to be champions of the WCC tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #11 seed, they defeated Seton Hall and Utah to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Syracuse. The final AP Poll is the most recent poll in which Gonzaga was unranked until 2023–24, when they were unranked for 6 weeks.
The 2016 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the West Coast Conference and was held March 3–8, 2016 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The winner of the tournament, Gonzaga, received the conference's automatic bid into the 2016 NCAA tournament.
The 2016–17 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices on September 30, 2016 and ended with the 2017 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament March 2–7, 2017. The regular season began on November 11, 2016, with the conference schedule starting December 29, 2016. This was the 66th season for WCC men's basketball, and the 28th under its current name of "West Coast Conference". The conference was founded in 1952 as the California Basketball Association, became the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956, and dropped the word "Athletic" in 1989.
The 2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 17th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 30–6, 16–2 in West Coast Conference play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament, they defeated Pepperdine in the quarterfinals before losing to BYU in the semifinals. They were one of the last four teams not selected for the NCAA tournament and as a result earned a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Southeastern Louisiana in the first round and Washington in the second round before losing to Utah in the quarterfinals.
The 2019 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the West Coast Conference during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, held March 7–12 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Saint Mary's upset top-ranked Gonzaga 60–47 in the championship game and received the conference's automatic bid to the 68-team NCAA tournament.
The 2019 University Credit Union West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was a postseason women's basketball tournament held for the West Coast Conference for the 2018–19 season. All tournament games were played at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas area community of Paradise, Nevada from March 7–12, 2019. BYU won the championship game over Gonzaga. Paisley Johnson was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
The 2020–21 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2020 and ended with the 2021 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament in March 2021. This was the 70th season for WCC men's basketball, and the 32nd under its current name of "West Coast Conference". The conference was founded in 1952 as the California Basketball Association, became the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956, and dropped the word "Athletic" in 1989.
The 2021 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the West Coast Conference during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The tournament was held from March 4 through March 9, 2021 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Gonzaga won the tournament, giving it the conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament, in the process becoming the 16th team to enter the Division I tournament unbeaten. For the third consecutive year, the Los Angeles-based University Credit Union was the title sponsor of the tournament.
The 2021 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was played March 4–9, 2021, at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The winner received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
The 2022 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was held between March 3 and 8 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Gonzaga won the tournament and with it the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
