Copyright The Denver Post
Every road trip will feel like a vacation. Saint Mary’s hoops at Hamilton Gymnasium? Sign me up. Soccer matches involving players who could represent the U.S. National Team? Yes, please. Golf tournaments with future pros on every tee box? Are you serious? The move by the University of Denver to the West Coast Conference, which was announced Friday, is more brilliant than the glistening gold on the Carl M. Williams tower on campus. Let’s be honest, DU did not make sense in the Summit League. It was an oxymoron, the conference dragging the Pioneers closer to base camp, the last place a college wants to be with a national decline in enrollment. There was no upside. DU was not going to take the next step by recruiting athletes from a league footprint of South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Oklahoma. Nothing against those places — enjoyed time in all of them — but DU draws most of its out-of-state students from California, followed by a large chunk from the Northwest. The Pioneers boast national championships in hockey, lacrosse and skiing. This, however, might be the school’s biggest win. When asked to sign the contract, vice chancellor for athletics Josh Berlo probably pulled his hamstrings racing to find a pen. “This is the next step in our journey,” Berlo said. “And we expect to be here for many, many decades.” DU’s dream always came with a vision of where it belonged, where it wanted to plant its flag. When the Pioneers transitioned to Division I athletics in the 1998-99 season, it represented a significant step. But there was also another goal, one Dan Ritchie, the “cowboy chancellor” whose name adorns a building on campus, tried to speak into existence. The WCC, with nine private institutions, offered an ideal alignment athletically, academically and geographically. DU will join the WCC in July 2026, completing a three-decade pursuit, sometimes covert, sometimes not, that came together over the last two weeks. “This day gives me a chance to reflect on Dan and what he did. He was a role model and mentor. And he talked about being in this conference for years,” said gymnastic coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. Joining the WCC, as chancellor Jeremy Haefner explained, groups DU with schools that “look like us and that we aspire to be like.” Nine of the WCC institutions rank in the top 150 of US News & World Report, Haefner continued, with DU at 117. In the Summit League, DU was akin to a Sesame Street skit. “One of these things (is not like the others).” DU did this for recruiting. Students and athletes. The WCC provides fertile ground on a bigger platform for higher visibility. The games will air on CBS and ESPN and online on ESPN+. The conference switch does not directly impact DU’s premier sports. Hockey (National Collegiate Hockey Conference), gymnastics (Big 12) and lacrosse (Big East) will all stay put. But it does affect them in ancillary ways. Exposure for some is exposure for all in the big picture. “You see the Big Ten go national, and you’ve got a lot of our sports. Obviously, we don’t have football, but I don’t think tennis players or soccer players sign up to play in California want to go to Rutgers (to play),” hockey coach David Carle said in his matter-of-fact style. “This is a great opportunity for us to recruit California. It is more centrally located. It makes the West Coast Conference stronger, and I think the value we bring is exceptional.” You can see how this could go. A Southern California soccer player deciding between Pepperdine and DU might tilt toward the Pios, knowing multiple trips home are on the schedule. Same for a volleyball star choosing between Loyola Marymount and the glistening campus off Asbury Avenue that featured “University of Denver is heading to the WCC” placards planted in the grass Friday. “Being able to compete against premier schools is big, and we are already in that market. Now, we can tap more into the West Coast,” soccer coach Julianne Sitch said. “It is only going to elevate our opportunities.” Yes, that is what leaving the Summit League, ironically, does for the Pios. It lifts them up. Of course, there are lingering questions, kinks in the plan. Namely basketball. And no more excuses. The women’s team owns one winning season in the Summit League. The Pios men’s team last posted a winning record in 2016-17. Gonzaga is leaving the conference, but St. Mary’s, Santa Clara and San Francisco remain formidable. March Madness cannot remain March Sadness. This move must be accompanied by a significant improvement in hoops. “It is definitely going to expand our net for sure. Part of the recruiting pitch is selling the league, and we can sell that we are going to be playing high-level basketball. It is going to help and be big for us to find our kind of people,” first-year men’s hoops coach Tim Bergstraser said. “I talked to my staff about focusing on this year, but let’s be real. We need to look ahead and be as prepared as possible. I am a firm believer in the vision. I see it and I am right there with them.” DU wasn’t going anywhere in the Summit. Where the roads can lead in the WCC seem endless. Friday, the puzzle found its final piece.
