Seattle University joins Western Athletic Conference, adding to its reputation

SEATTLE University's move to the Western Athletic Conference is appropriately greeted as a milestone as an excellent school becomes great.

Joining a top-flight athletic conference lends a distinguished school instant buzz and, in the long run, greater visibility and legitimacy. The competition improves and athletes compete against schools that are the biggest and best.

Seattle U. joins the conference in 17 sports starting in the 2012-13 academic year. The school will have an opportunity to compete for conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament. This will be a boon for recruiting.

Yes, Seattle U. has always been a good school, but the devices for attracting top students take all forms, including offering strong athletic programs.

Men's basketball coach Cameron Dollar put it well during a celebratory campus news conference.

"The two questions you get are, 'What conference are you in?' and 'How are you going to get into the tournament?' " Dollar said. "We won't get those anymore. This instantly wipes that out."

College football fans will be disappointed that Seattle U. will be a non-football-playing member of the WAC.

The shift to a prestigious league fits with other visible improvements on campus. A $160 million fundraising effort that ended two years ago increased the university's endowment and is being used for many improvements, including boosting scholarships, improving academic programs and upgrading the school's sports facility.

Credit the university president, the Rev. Stephen Sundborg, with a long-range vision to build a sports powerhouse alongside the spirituality of the state's largest private university. Sundborg took a rising athletic program and steadily moved it from the NCAA's Division III to Division II, then on to Division I, the highest level.

Hurrah for Seattle U., its athletic teams and its visionary president.