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OJAI, Calif. – The impending finality hit Arizona State women’s head coach Sheila McInerney as she was having dinner with her players before their opening match in the Pac-12 Championships.

McInerney has been coming to The Ojai for more than 45 years, dating back to her days as a player at the University of Southern California. McInerney imagined nothing would change until her retirement. But the dissolution of the Pac-12 Conference forced an abrupt departure.

The 122^nd edition of The Ojai marked the end of the tradition-rich event’s long standing relationship with the Pac-12.

“It’s just sad,” McInerney said. “There is so much history here with this tournament and so much history for our conference in tennis overall. To realize it will no longer exist and we won’t be coming back is really hard to process.”

The final Pac-12 championship produced some old, some new and a lot of emotions.

The Stanford women won their sixth team title with a 4-0 win over Bay Area rival Cal to add to their long list of individual champions crowned before the event switched to a team format. The Arizona men won their first Pac-12 team tournament title in program history with a 4-0 victory over Stanford.

Once the NCAA Championships end, the Pac-12 programs will officially go their separate ways, an outcome dictated by a failed television deal and the power of football in driving conference finances.

The first dominoes to fall were USC and UCLA announcing in 2022 their departure to the Big Ten Conference. Once the Pac-12 administrators couldn’t secure a TV rights deal last year that came close to matching other power conferences, the other schools began to jump for a lifesaver.

Oregon and Washington joined USC and UCLA in the Big Ten while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah left for the Big 12. Stanford and Cal eventually found a home in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Oregon State and Washington State were left adrift. OSU doesn’t have tennis programs and WSU only has a women’s program. The Cougars will play in the West Coast Conference as an affiliate member for the next two years.

In just a few hours, the more than 100-year history of the Pac-12 disintegrated.

“It’s so sad and so unnecessary because they could have separated us out. There’s no reason that we’re going to a conference on the East Coast just because of football,” said Stanford women’s coach Lele Forood. “There is no reason for that. We play 30 matches. We don’t have chartered planes, so it’s got to be separated. We should be playing regionally. They should have figured this out.”

The countdown to the final Pac-12 matches hovered over The Ojai last week, providing a bittersweet taste to accompany the cups of fresh orange juice and tea.

The Ojai is one of the most unique tournaments in the world. It’s like a tennis festival, where the Pac-12, junior colleges, independent colleges, Division III colleges, men’s and women’s open and juniors all play in the same event.

The entire town embraces the players, and the residents literally open their homes to them. Many junior matches are held on private courts at someone’s home and several Pac-12 teams have stayed with host families for generations.

The setting remains a throwback. Libbey Park is located in the heart of Ojai’s quaint downtown. The sight of oak trees and smell of citrus provide sensory touchpoints that never seem to age.

The event is run by an all-volunteer staff that become known to nearly every player, spectator and coach throughout the years. They serve free fresh-squeezed orange juice at Libbey Park in the morning and cookies and tea on fine china in the afternoon.

The list of legends to have graced the Ojai courts rivals a major professional event. Lindsay Davenport, Pete Sampras, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, Tracy Austin, Bill Tilden, and Stan Smith are just a few. The “Wall of Fame” at Libbey Park lists 89 players who competed at The Ojai and won one or more of the Grand Slam tournaments.

Spectators can stroll through a collage of picture boards in the Libbey courtyard entrance to see photos of past champions from each year.

The Pac-12 has been linchpin on the tradition-rich event, like an anchor tenant of a mall. The conference’s departure throws into question the future of the tournament. Can The Ojai survive without its biggest draw?

The event has been courting other conferences to consider holding their championships in Ojai. One major conference is considering playing the women’s championship in Ojai, but nothing has been finalized.

“I am worried about The Ojai and how it will survive,” said UCLA men’s head coach Billy Martin, who, like several other Pac-12 coaches, played the event as a junior and college player. “I love The Ojai and I fought to keep our conference tournament there over the years to preserve that because it is part of my tennis history.”

Doubles legends Bob and Mike Bryan were honored at this year’s Ojai. It was the first time the former Stanford stars had returned to the event in nearly 30 years.

The Bryans grew up just a few miles away in Camarillo and their parents played in the tournament. It was always their dream to win a title at Ojai, and they collected them in bunches once they participated.

It came full circle for Bob this year as his 12-year-old daughter, Micaela, played in The Ojai and sang the national anthem before the Pac-12 women’s final at Libbey.

The twins have traveled all over the world and played in every big event possible, yet The Ojai holds a special place in their hearts.

“It’s hard to explain it to people. If you don’t grow up watching these champions or seeing the boards or being here in the tea tent,” said Bob Bryan, the U.S Davis Cup captain and Olympic coach. “But if you walk through the gates of Wimbledon, you’re going to feel something, you’re going to feel a different kind of emotion, and that’s the same thing with this tournament. If you go to an Olympics, you’re going to feel a different energy, a different emotion. Kalamazoo has a little bit of that. This is one of those special unique spots on the tennis calendar.”

The Stanford women won’t have a chance to defend their title. They will be playing in Cary, North Carolina at this time next year in the ACC Championships. It’s a fate Forood has reluctantly accepted for now.

“This is not good for Olympic sports. We need to keep Olympic sports playing regionally,” Forood said. “I am assuming within two years, they’ll go, ‘What the hell are we thinking?’ It’s got to change.”

As she collected one last trophy and began to pack for a return to the Bay Area, Forood tried to soak in as much of The Ojai atmosphere as possible. It’s been a staple on the Pac-12 calendar for so long that it's hard to imagine never returning.

The setting. The people. The vibe. Nothing rivals The Ojai.

“Hopefully one day, we’re back,” Forood said. “Who knows?”

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About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at [email protected].