Editorial: In Ojai, tradition trumps money
Sometimes big developments can hit home in unexpected ways. So it is in Ojai, where the dissolution of the Pac-12 collegiate athletic conference — a development triggered by the dollar-driven decisions by UCLA and USC to chase the television revenue of Big 10 football — has upended a 69-year tradition at the annual Ojai Tennis Tournament.
Few things in all of California say “tradition” quite like an event so grounded in history that it is known simply as “The Ojai.” The tournament, the oldest amateur event in the sport, dates back to 1896.
So what does the decision in 2022 by UCLA and USC — an act some have described as a “money grab” — have to do with the genteel April tradition in Ojai? Their defections triggered a cascade of events that ultimately led Oregon and Washington to also join the Big 10, six other universities to bolt to other conferences, and ultimately the dissolution of the West Coast’s most prestigious athletic conference.
That means that next year, for the first time in 70 years, there will be no Pac-12 (or in earlier times, the Pac-8 and the Pac-10) championship at The Ojai.
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While much of the focus on the conference’s dissolution has been on the high-profile sports of football and basketball, its effect on the so-called minor sports will be in many ways more meaningful, if not as economically consequential.
While Midwestern, Southern and East Coast schools have historically claimed dominance in the major sports — think Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan in football, or Connecticut, North Carolina and Duke in basketball — West Coast schools have long been preeminent in the minor sports.
It was at Stanford where Tiger Woods played golf and John McEnroe played tennis, at UCLA where Simone Biles competed in gymnastics and where Jackie Robinson ran track. In tennis, the Pac-12 schools have been particularly dominant — either USC, UCLA or Stanford has won the NCAA championship in the sport in 48 of the last 70 years.
So it has been that the Pac-12 championship was the showcase event at The Ojai. Those matches featured the best of the best, competing at the highest amateur level of the sport.
To be sure, The Ojai will adapt. The event has an Old World sensibility — a trait, like the excellence on the court, that is reminiscent of Wimbledon. It is not going to let a crass development like the chase for television revenue spoil its reputation or its charm.
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In restrained, elegant language, Ojai Valley Tennis Club board president Carolyn Burke had this to say in a statement given to The Star last week: “The loss of the Pac-12 has given the Ojai Tennis Tournament a chance to pause and reflect on the many great years of memories that have taken place in storied Libbey Park. But it has allowed us time to look to the future and explore opportunities we have to create many more memorable Ojai tennis tournaments in the future.”
Among the options are the possibility of hosting the league championships for one of the remaining top West Coast conferences, or staging an invitational tournament that might continue to involve the USC, UCLA and Stanford powerhouses. Somehow — and allow us a little West Coast snobbery here — an Ojai Invitational victory would seem to be more prestigious than a Big 10 tennis championship in, say, Indianapolis.
In any event, it’s a good bet that The Ojai will not just persevere but thrive in the post-Pac-12 era. There are things that are more important and more enduring than college football television contracts. Next April, they will be on display in storied Libbey Park.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Editorial: In Ojai, tradition trumps money
