Big West Conference

"Pacific Coast Athletic Association" redirects here. For the San Diego area community college athletic conference, see Pacific Coast Athletic Conference.

The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), and in 1988 was renamed the Big West Conference. The conference stopped sponsoring college football after the 2000 season.

Big West Conference

Formerly	Pacific Coast Athletic Association (1969–1988)
Association	NCAA
Founded	July 1, 1969; 56 years ago (1969-07-01)
Commissioner	Dan Butterly (since July 1, 2020)
Sports fielded	21 men's: 10 women's: 11
Division	Division I
Subdivision	Non–football
No. of teams	11 (12 in 2026, 11 in 2027)
Headquarters	Irvine, California
Region	West Coast
Broadcasters	ESPN Spectrum SportsNet
Official website	www.bigwest.org
Locations

Among the conference's 11 member institutions, 10 are located in California (nine in Southern California alone), and one is located in Hawaii (though the Hawaii member is leaving for the Mountain West Conference, effective July 1, 2026). All of the current schools are public universities, with the California schools evenly split between the California State University and the University of California systems. In addition, one affiliate member plays two sports in the BWC not sponsored by its home conference.

History

CBU

Cal Poly

Bakersfield

CSUF

CSUN

Long Beach State

UC Davis

UCI

UCR

UCSD

UCSB

Sacramento State

Big West Conference Members locations
– Full members
– Future member
– Current Associate and Future full member
– Departing members

Hawaii

Big West Conference Members locations
– Departing members (future affiliate)

Utah Valley

Big West Conference Members locations
– Future Member

Pacific Coast Athletic Association

The Big West Conference was formed in June 1968 as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.^[1] The five original charter members were Fresno State, San Jose State, UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State, and Long Beach State.^[1] Two other schools, Cal State Los Angeles and the University of the Pacific, were also considered but they declined at that time to pursue membership.^[2] The newly formed conference had several meetings to set up its governance, which was confirmed in October 1968 on the campus of UC Santa Barbara.^[3] Before the league started play, Cal State Los Angeles joined as a full member and the University of the Pacific joined for football only, becoming a full member itself two years later.^[4][5] The conference itself lists July 1, 1969, as its founding date, with the seven institutions beginning conference play that fall.^[6][7]

Evolution

Since its inception as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, the conference has seen many changes. Utah State was the first institution outside California to join the conference in 1978.^[8] This opened the floodgates for many other schools to affiliate with the PCAA; notable schools include UNLV, Nevada, Louisiana Tech, Boise State, and football-only members, such as Southwestern Louisiana and Arkansas State.

In 1983, the PCAA became the first western conference to introduce women's athletic programs, allowing female student-athletes to compete at the same level as their male counterparts. This proved vital for Hawaii as their only participation in the conference was for their women's sports.

However, many universities left to join conferences that were perceived as more well-known, such as the Western Athletic Conference or the Mountain West Conference, while others did not see the benefit of travel since historically many of the teams have been California-based.

From the departures of Idaho and Utah State in 2005 until the arrival of Hawaii in 2012, all members were based in California, reducing the cost and travel time between the universities. When Hawaii joined, it agreed to help defray a portion of travel costs to that state for the league's California members.

In 2011, San Diego State University and Boise State University had initially agreed to move all sports except football to the Big West by 2013.^[9] However, when the Big East decided to no longer sponsor football for the 2013 season, both San Diego and Boise backed out of their agreement with the Big West, electing to remain members of the Mountain West instead.

Upon numerous conference shifts spurred from the announcement that UCLA and USC of the Pac-12 were to move to Big 10, a domino effect occurred, ultimately resulting in both Hawai'i and UC Davis announcing their move to the Mountain West effective the 2026 school year.

This would leave the Big West with 9 teams, and with the remaining member universities hoping to keep the conference at at least 11 teams, the Big West invited both California Baptist University and Utah Valley University to join the conference by the 2026 school year. Both institutions have since announced their respective intentions to join the conference, marking it the first time since 2013 that a private university will compete in the Big West, and the first time since 2005 that the Big West will have a member in the continental U.S. outside of California. Later in June, Sacramento State announced it's intention to join the Big West in all sports except football, effective by the 2026 school year, where they will join alongside California Baptist and Utah Valley.

On September 3, 2025, UC San Diego formally accepted an invite to the West Coast Conference for the 2027-28 season after Gonzaga announced their departure to the rebuilt Pac-12 for the 2026-27 season earlier that year.^[10]

There have been no more than 35 full and associate members in the conference's history, while only two of the original seven charter members remain (Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara, with only Long Beach State's membership being continuous).

The change to the Big West

The logo of the Big West from 2000 to 2021^[11]

Effective July 1, 1988, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association changed its name to the Big West Conference.^[7] With such schools as Utah State, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico State, and Hawaii now in the fold, the name change was more representative of its member institutions.^[7] In addition, the conference had signed a contract with ESPN to have its men's basketball games telecast as the third game of a triple header known as Big Monday - the other conferences being featured were the Big East and the Big Ten so the name Big West fit the theme.^[12]

Member schools

Current full members

  Member departing for the Mountain West Conference in 2026.
  Members departing for the West Coast Conference in 2027.

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Endowment (millions – FY24)	Nickname	Colors
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly)	San Luis Obispo, California	1901	1996[a]	Public (CSU system)	22,287	$296.45[13]	Mustangs
California State University, Bakersfield (Bakersfield)[14]	Bakersfield, California	1965	2020[15][b]	Public (CSU system)	9,261	$42.74[13]	Roadrunners
California State University, Fullerton (Cal State Fullerton)	Fullerton, California	1957	1974	Public (CSU system)	38,726	$148.68[13]	Titans
California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State)	Long Beach, California	1949	1969	Public (CSU system)	39,360	$132.9[13]	Beach[c]
California State University, Northridge (Cal State Northridge)	Los Angeles, California	1958	2001	Public (CSU system)	38,511	$219.62[13]	Matadors
University of California, Davis (UC Davis)[d]	Yolo County, California	1905	2007	Public (UC system)	40,772	$2,386.11[17]	Aggies
University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine)	Irvine, California	1965	1977	Public (UC system)	37,243	$2,722.42[17]	Anteaters
University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside)	Riverside, California	1954	2001	Public (UC system)	26,809	$1,287.51[17]	Highlanders
University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego)	San Diego, California	1960	2020[e]	Public (UC system)	42,968	$3,019.28[17]	Tritons
University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara)	Isla Vista, California	1891	1969; 1976[f]	Public (UC system)	26,421	$1,074.5[17]	Gauchos
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Hawaii)[g]	Honolulu, Hawaii	1907	2012[h]	Public (U of H system)	19,074	$566.99 (system-wide)[19]	Rainbow Warriors & Rainbow Wahine[i]

Notes

1. Then Division II, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was an affiliate member of the Big West in women's volleyball from 1984–85 to 1989–90.
2. Before becoming a full member, Bakersfield had been a Big West affiliate in beach volleyball since the 2015–16 school year.
3. Long Beach State fully rebranded its athletic program as Beach effective in the 2020–21 school year, after transitioning from its former nickname of 49ers over several years. The baseball team continues to use the nickname Dirtbags, which it had adopted in the 49ers era.
4. UC Davis will leave the Big West to join the Mountain West Conference as a full member in 2026, though they will remain an affiliate member for football in the Big Sky Conference.^[16]
5. UC San Diego first joined the Big West as a men's volleyball affiliate in 2017. It added women's water polo to its BWC membership in 2019.
6. UC Santa Barbara joined the Big West when it was founded in 1969, left to become an independent after the 1973–74 school year, then rejoined the conference effective the 1976–77 school year.
7. Hawaii will leave the Big West to join the Mountain West Conference as a full member in 2026, though they will remain an affiliate member for men's swimming and diving, men's volleyball, beach volleyball, and women's water polo.^[18]
8. Hawaii was a full member of the Big West in women's sports from 1984–85 to 1995–96; while the men's sports were a full member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during that tenure.
9. The Hawaii beach volleyball team is officially Rainbow Wahine, but more commonly uses the nickname BeachBows.

Future members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joining	Type	Enrollment	Endowment (millions – FY24)	Nickname	Colors	Current conference
California Baptist University[20][21]	Riverside, California	1950	2026[a]	Private (Baptist)	11,491[22]	$162.7[23]	Lancers		WAC
California State University, Sacramento[24]	Sacramento, California	1947	2026[b]	Public (CSU system)	31,181	$86.42[13]	Hornets		Big Sky
Utah Valley University[25]	Orem, Utah	1941	2026	Public	41,728	$109.94[26]	Wolverines		WAC

Notes

1. Cal Baptist will pay a $1.2 million exit fee to the WAC. The university will be the first private university to compete in the Big West since Pacific left in 2013.
2. Before becoming a full member, Sacramento State had been a Big West affiliate in various sports dating back to 1996. These sports included:

   • baseball between the 1996–97 and 2001–02 school years
   • men's soccer since the 2012–13 school year
   • beach volleyball since the 2015–16 school year
   • men's golf during the 2024–25 school year

Affiliate members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Primary conference	Big West sport(s)
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)	Hornets[a]	Sacramento, California	1947	2012–13	Public (CSU system)	30,670	Big Sky	Men's soccer
				2015–16				Beach volleyball
Grand Canyon University	Antelopes	Phoenix, Arizona	1949	2025–26	Private For-Profit[b]	103,427[c]	Mountain West	Men's swimming & diving[d]
University of San Diego	Toreros	San Diego, California			Private	7,548	WCC	Women's swimming & diving
Seattle University	Redhawks	Seattle, Washington	1891			7,755		Men's swimming & diving
								Women's swimming & diving

Notes

1. Sacramento State men's soccer joined the Big West Conference in the 2012 fall season (2012–13 school year) and beach volleyball followed for the 2016 spring season (2015–16 school year). They will become full members in the 2026-27 season.^[27][28]
2. Grand Canyon's for-profit status is disputed. The U.S. Department of Education treats it as a for-profit institution, but the Internal Revenue Service, the NCAA, and the state of Arizona consider it a nonprofit.
3. Includes online students. Current on-campus enrollment is about 25,300.
4. Though Grand Canyon was initially set to compete in both men and women's swimming and diving in 2025, upon their early admission into the Mountain West, they moved their women's team to that conference.

Future affiliate member

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joining	Type	Enrollment	Primary conference	Big West sport(s)
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Hawaii)	Rainbow Warriors & Rainbow Wahine	Honolulu, Hawaii	1907	2026[a]	Public (U of H system)	19,074	Big West (MW in 2026)	Beach volleyball
								Men's swimming and diving
								Men's volleyball
								Women's water polo

Notes

1. While technically the school has been a Big West member in all sports since 2012, this will be their first year as an affiliate member.

Former members

Many of the former members of the Big West are now members of the Western Athletic Conference or the Mountain West Conference. Of the nine schools that were in the WAC before its early-2010s realignment, only Hawaii had not spent some time in the Big West as a football participant – it was a Big West member only in women's sports. Of the former members, Cal State Los Angeles is the only team that reverted to Division II level.

School names and nicknames reflect those used by the institutions when they were Big West members. One school has changed its name (Southwestern Louisiana, now branded athletically as Louisiana and also known as Louisiana–Lafayette) and another its nickname (Arkansas State, from Indians to Red Wolves).

Former full members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Enrollment	Current primary conference
Boise State University	Broncos	Boise, Idaho	1932	1996	2001	Public	22,678	Mountain West (Pac-12 in 2026)
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State)	Bulldogs	Fresno, California	1911	1969	1992		22,565
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State L.A.)	Golden Eagles	Los Angeles, California	1947		1974		20,619	CCAA[a]
University of Idaho	Vandals	Moscow, Idaho	1889	1996	2005		11,180	Big Sky
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)	Rebels	Las Vegas, Nevada[b]	1957	1982	1996		28,203	Mountain West
University of Nevada, Reno	Wolf Pack	Reno, Nevada	1874	1992	2000		18,227
New Mexico State University	Aggies	Las Cruces, New Mexico	1888	1983			18,497	CUSA
University of North Texas	Mean Green	Denton, Texas	1890	1996			35,778	The American
University of the Pacific	Tigers	Stockton, California	1851	1971	2013	Private	6,296	West Coast
San Diego State University	Aztecs	San Diego, California	1897	1969	1978	Public	28,789	Mountain West (Pac-12 in 2026)
San Jose State University	Spartans	San Jose, California	1857		1996		32,697	Mountain West
Utah State University	Aggies	Logan, Utah	1888	1978	2005		28,796	Mountain West (Pac-12 in 2026)

1. Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
2. The UNLV campus lies outside the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated community of Paradise. The U.S. Postal Service considers all unincorporated areas in the Las Vegas Valley to have a Las Vegas address.

Former affiliate members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Enrollment	Primary conference	Big West sport(s)
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona)	Broncos	Pomona, California	1938	1984–85	1989–90	Public	22,501	CCAA[a]	softball
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Hawaii)	Rainbow Warriors & Rainbow Wahine[b]	Honolulu, Hawaii	1907		1995–96		19,074	Big West	women's sports
University of Idaho (Idaho)	Vandals	Moscow, Idaho	1889	2024–25			11,849	Big Sky	men's golf
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)	Hornets	Sacramento	1947	1996–97	2001–02		24,388		baseball
				2024–25					men's golf
San Diego State University	Aztecs	San Diego	1897	1984–85	1989–90		33,790	Mountain West (Pac-12 in 2026)	women's sports
				2012–13					women's water polo

1. Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
2. The Hawaii beach volleyball team is officially Rainbow Wahine, but more commonly uses the nickname BeachBows.

Former football-only members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Enrollment	Primary conference at the time of joining Big West football	Current conference
Arkansas State University	Indians[a]	Jonesboro, Arkansas	1909	1993–94	1995–96	Public	13,438	Sun Belt
				1999–00	2000–01[b]
Louisiana Tech University	Bulldogs	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	1993–94	1995–96		11,581	Sun Belt	CUSA
Northern Illinois University	Huskies	DeKalb, Illinois	1895				25,313	Mid-Continent[c]	MAC (MW in 2026)[d]
University of Southwestern Louisiana[e]	Ragin' Cajuns	Lafayette, Louisiana	1898				19,188	Sun Belt
University of the Pacific	Tigers	Stockton, California	1851	1969	1971[f]	Private	6,296	West Coast

Notes

1. Currently known as the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
2. Arkansas State joined the Big West for football in the 1993 fall season (1993–94 school year), left to become an independent after the 1995 fall season (–96 school year, then re-joined in 1999, only to leave again after the 2000 fall season (2000–01 school year).
3. Currently known as the Summit League.
4. Northern Illinois will be a football-only MW member, with most other sports in the Horizon League.
5. Currently known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and branded for sports purposes as "Louisiana".
6. Pacific joined the Big West for only football in 1969, and became a full member in 1971.

Membership timeline

Full members  Full members (non-football)  Assoc. members (football only)  Assoc. member (Other sports)  Other Conference  Other Conference 

Notes

• San Diego State played football as an independent for the 1976 and 1977 seasons before leaving the Big West Conference in 1978.
• UC Santa Barbara was an independent from 1974–75 to 1975–76.
• Cal State Fullerton played football as an independent for the 1992 season and dropped football entirely the following year.
• Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois, Southwestern Louisiana, and Arkansas State joined the Big West for a short-lived football consortium from 1993 to 1995.
• Arkansas State played football as an independent from 1996 to 1998 and later rejoined the Big West for football during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Sports

The Big West Conference currently sponsors 21 NCAA sports, with men's and women's swimming & diving the newest additions for the 2024–25 school year.^[29] The Big West is considered a mid-major conference, the term itself coined in 1977.

In baseball, Cal State Fullerton has won four College World Series titles with national championships in 1979, 1984, 1995, and 2004.^[30] In addition, Long Beach State and UC Irvine have made multiple appearances in the College World Series. The Big West is the only existing mid-major conference to have multiple teams make the College World Series in the same year, with Cal State Fullerton and Fresno State both making it in 1988, Long Beach State and Fresno in 1991, and Fullerton and UC Irvine in 2007. Fullerton also has a national championship in softball, winning in 1986. Hawai'i joined the conference in women's sports only between 1984 and 1996, and won the 1987 NCAA women's volleyball title. Long Beach State has won three NCAA women's volleyball titles as a part of Big West Conference women's volleyball, with national championships in 1989, 1993, and 1998. Misty May-Treanor led the 49ers (now known as Beach) to a 36–0 record en route to the program's most recent title. UC Santa Barbara was the NCAA men's soccer runner-up in 2004, losing the national championship match to Indiana on penalty kicks. The Gauchos returned to the College Cup in 2006 and won the national championship.

Former Big West members UNLV and Pacific won national championships while part of the conference. The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team won the 1990 NCAA tournament championship after routing Duke 103–73 in the national title game. UNLV was undefeated during the 1991 NCAA men's basketball season before falling to Duke in the final four. The Runnin' Rebels during this era are widely considered one of the best college basketball teams of all time. The Pacific Tigers women's volleyball team won back-to-back national championships in 1985 and 1986.

The Big West did not sponsor men's volleyball or men's water polo, but it was the primary conference affiliation of several schools that compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for these sports, respectively. In NCAA men's volleyball, UC Irvine has established itself as one of the nation's most elite programs, winning four national championships in 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013. Long Beach State also won men's national volleyball titles in 1991, 2018, 2019, and 2025, three while in the Big West. Hawai'i also won men's national volleyball titles in 2021 and 2022. In NCAA men's water polo, UC Irvine won three national championships in 1970, 1982, and 1989. UC Santa Barbara also won a men's water polo title in 1979.

On May 31, 2016, the Big West announced the conference would sponsor men's volleyball as its 18th sport, with five Big West schools leaving the MPSF to establish the new men's volleyball league. Men's volleyball is the third of four sports in which the MPSF has recently seen a mass exodus of teams to join an existing conference in a newly sponsored sport, with men's soccer, men's water polo, and women's lacrosse as the others. The men's volleyball membership includes core Big West members Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, Hawaii, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara. UC San Diego joined as an affiliate to bring the league to the NCAA minimum requirement of 6 teams to receive an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament.

Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell explained that adding UC San Diego was not an indicator UC San Diego would be added to the Big West Conference as a full member. UC San Diego had recently passed a bill to move all their sports to Division I and was looking for an invite from the Big West Conference. UC San Diego has long competed at the Division I level in men's volleyball; the NCAA conducts a single national championship open to all Division I and II members, and scholarship limits in the sport are the same in both divisions. The Big West regular season for men's volleyball will be a double round-robin, with each team playing the others once at home and once on the road. The Big West Tournament will have all six teams participate in single-elimination rounds with the top two teams receiving semifinal byes.^[31]

The Big West is the first Division I all-sports conference (defined as a league that sponsors men's and women's basketball) ever to sponsor men's volleyball, and the second NCAA all-sports conference overall to sponsor men's volleyball as a scholarship sport (the first was the Division II Conference Carolinas).

On November 26, 2017, the Big West announced that it would add UC San Diego along with Cal State Bakersfield as its 10th and 11th members starting on July 1, 2020. Cal State Bakersfield, which was already a full Division I member competing in the Western Athletic Conference, became a full member effective July 1, 2020. UC San Diego, which had failed to move up from Division II in failed bids to the Big West in 2011 and April 2017, has begun the four-year transition process to Division I and became a full member effective July 1, 2024. UC San Diego's men's volleyball joined the Big West in 2017, in advance of that sport's 2018 season, and women's water polo joined in 2019. Because the NCAA does not sponsor a Division II championship in either men's volleyball or women's water polo, UCSD was eligible for conference championships in both sports upon joining the Big West, and remained eligible for such during the D-I transition.^[32]

UC San Diego and Cal State Bakersfield, the latter now in the process of rebranding its athletic program as Bakersfield, officially joined the conference on July 1, 2020, and Dan Butterly became the new commissioner following the retirement of Dennis Farrell. UC San Diego officially joined Division I ranks on July 1, 2024, and thus could compete in conference championships and NCAA playoffs from then on.

Big West Conference teams

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	11	–
Basketball	11	11
Beach volleyball	–	7
Cross Country	9	11
Golf	12	9
Soccer	10	11
Softball	–	10
Swimming & diving	6	6
Tennis	7	10
Track and Field (Outdoor)	10	11
Volleyball	6	11
Water polo	6	7

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basket­ball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volley­ball	Water polo	Total Sports
Bakersfield	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	5
Cal Poly	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	8
Cal State Fullerton	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	7
Cal State Northridge	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	7
Hawaiʻi	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	6
Long Beach State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	7
UC Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	8
UC Irvine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
UC Riverside	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	7
UC San Diego	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
UC Santa Barbara	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Future Members
California Baptist	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	8
Sacramento State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	7
Utah Valley	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	6
Totals	11	11	9	10	9+1[a]	5+2[b]	7	10	6	6	84+3

1. Affiliate member Sacramento State.
2. Affiliate members Grand Canyon and Seattle.

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big West Conference which are played by Big West schools

School	Fencing[a]	Football[b]	Rowing[c]	Track & Field (Indoor)	Wrestling
Bakersfield	No	No	No	No	Pac-12
Cal Poly	No	Big Sky	No	Independent	Pac-12
Cal State Fullerton	No	No	No	MPSF	No
Cal State Northridge	No	No	No	MPSF	No
California Baptist	No	No	No	No	Big 12
Hawai'i	No	Mountain West	No	No	No
Long Beach State	No	No	ACRA	MPSF	No
Sacramento State	No	Big Sky[d]	No	Big Sky[d]	No
UC Davis	No	Big Sky	ACRA	No	No
UC Irvine	No	No	ACRA	No	No
UC Riverside	No	No	No	MPSF	No
UC San Diego	MPSF	No	MPSF	No	No
UC Santa Barbara	No	No	ACRA	Independent	No
Utah Valley	No	No	No	WAC[e]	Big 12

1. NCAA fencing is a coeducational sport, with schools fielding separate men's and women's squads and all bouts involving members of the same sex. The only Big West member that sponsors the sport, UC San Diego, fields both squads.
2. Hawai'i competes at the FBS level, while Cal Poly and UC Davis compete at the FCS level. Sacramento State is yet to announce what level they will be playing at.
3. The only category of rowing sponsored by the NCAA is women's heavyweight rowing. Men's rowing and women's lightweight rowing are organized by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association.
4. Sacramento State has not yet announced a future affiliation for its football or men's indoor track & field programs.
5. Utah Valley has not yet announced a future affiliation for its men's indoor track & field program.

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basket­ball	Beach Volleyball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volley­ball	Water polo	Total Sports
Bakersfield	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	9
Cal Poly	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	10
Cal State Fullerton	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Cal State Northridge	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Hawaiʻi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	11
Long Beach State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
UC Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	11
UC Irvine	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
UC Riverside	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	8
UC San Diego	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
UC Santa Barbara	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Future Members
California Baptist	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Sacramento State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	9
Utah Valley	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	7
Totals	11	6+1[a]	11	9	11	10	6+2[b]	10	11	11	8	104+3

1. Affiliate member Sacramento State.
2. Affiliate members San Diego and Seattle.

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big West Conference which are played by Big West schools

School	Fencing[a]	Field hockey	Gymnastics	Lacrosse	Rowing	Stunt[b]	Track & Field (Indoor)
Bakersfield	No	No	No	No	No	No	Independent
Cal Poly	No	No	No	No	No	Independent	Independent
Cal State Fullerton	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
Cal State Northridge	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
California Baptist	No	No	No	No	No	Independent	No
Hawai'i	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
Long Beach State	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
Sacramento State	No	No	MPSF	No	WCC	No	Big Sky[c]
UC Davis	No	MPSF	MPSF	Big 12	No	No	Independent
UC Irvine	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
UC San Diego	MPSF	No	No	No	CAA	No	No
UC Santa Barbara	No	No	No	No	No	No	Independent
Utah Valley	No	No	No	No	No	No	WAC[d]

1. NCAA fencing is a coeducational sport, with schools fielding separate men's and women's squads and all bouts involving members of the same sex. The only Big West member that sponsors the sport, UC San Diego, fields both squads.
2. Part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.
3. Sacramento State has not yet announced a future affiliation for its men's indoor track & field program.
4. Has not yet announced a future affiliation for its women's indoor track & field program.

Current conference champions

The Big West Conference sponsors championship competition in 9 men's and 10 women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Men's and women's swimming & diving were added in 2024–25.^[33]

Regular-season champions are indicated with "(RS)" and tournament champions with "(T)".

Season	Sport	Men's champion	Women's champion
Fall 2024	Cross country	Cal Poly	Cal Poly
	Soccer	Cal Poly (RS) UC Davis (T)	Hawaiʻi (RS) UC Santa Barbara (T)
	Water polo	UC Irvine (RS) Long Beach State (T)
	Volleyball		Cal Poly (RS) Hawaiʻi (T)
Winter 2024–25	Swimming & diving	UC Santa Barbara	UC Santa Barbara
	Basketball	UC San Diego (RS & T)	Hawaiʻi (RS) UC San Diego (T)
Spring 2025	Golf	Long Beach State	Cal State Fullerton
	Volleyball	Long Beach State (RS) Hawaiʻi (T)
	Beach volleyball		Cal Poly (RS) Long Beach State (T)
	Tennis	UC Santa Barbara (RS) UC Irvine (T)	UC Santa Barbara (RS & T)
	Water polo		Hawaiʻi (RS & T)
	Track & field (outdoor)	Cal Poly	UC Irvine
	Softball		Cal State Fullerton (RS) UC Santa Barbara (T)
	Baseball	UC Irvine (RS) Cal Poly (T)

Former sports

Football

An asterisk denotes the participant in the bowls that invited the Big West champion:
Pasadena (1969–70), California (1981–91), Las Vegas (1992–96), and Humanitarian (1997–2000)^[34]

Football Champions (1969–1984) Year University 1969 San Diego State* 1970 Long Beach State* & San Diego State 1971 Long Beach State 1972 San Diego State 1973 San Diego State 1974 San Diego State 1975 San Jose State 1976 San Jose State 1977 Fresno State 1978 San Jose State and Utah State 1979 Utah State 1980 Long Beach State 1981 San Jose State* 1982 Fresno State* 1983 Cal State Fullerton* 1984 Cal State Fullerton (UNLV* forfeited)

Football Champions (1985–2000) Year University 1985 Fresno State* 1986 San Jose State* 1987 San Jose State* 1988 Fresno State* 1989 Fresno State* 1990 San Jose State* 1991 Fresno State* & San Jose State 1992 Nevada* 1993 Utah State* & Southwestern La. 1994 UNLV*, Southwestern La., & Nevada 1995 Nevada* 1996 Nevada* & Utah State 1997 Utah State* & Nevada 1998 Idaho* 1999 Boise State* 2000 Boise State*

The Big West Conference discontinued football following the 2000 season.^[35]

Academics

The following table shows National University rank by U.S. News & World Report as of 2025, as well as the Regional Western University rank as denoted by an asterisk, and the Forbes ranking for 2024-25.^[36][37][38]

Also indicated is membership in the Association of American Universities.^[39]

Institution	US News & World Report	Forbes	AAU Member
UC San Diego	29	20	Yes
UC Davis	32	44	Yes
UC Irvine	32	31	Yes
UC Santa Barbara	40	42	Yes
UC Riverside	75	77	Yes
Long Beach State	127	97	No
Cal State Fullerton	139	118	No
Hawaii	169	219	No
Cal Poly	1*	55	No
Cal State Northridge	20*	271	No
Sacramento State	22*	280	No
Cal State Bakersfield	31*	295	No
Cal Baptist	33*	–	No
Utah Valley	93*	–	No

Athletic department revenue by school

Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights and licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, concessions, and novelties.

Total expenses includes coach and staff salaries, scholarships, buildings and grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance.

The following table shows institutional reporting to the Knight Commission for the 2023–24 academic year.^[40][41]

Institution	2023-24 Total Expenses on Athletics	2023-24 Total Revenue from Athletics
Hawaii	$59,858,162	$57,738,309
UC Davis	$55,067,037	$50,059,304
Cal Poly	$46,657,496	$43,594,326
Sacramento State	$43,895,764	$43,065,314
California Baptist[a]	$34,879,391	$36,994,975
UC San Diego	$33,236,553	$32,471,959
UC Santa Barbara	$33,207,582	$28,115,031
UC Irvine	$31,027,866	$28,488,633
Long Beach State	$29,648,226	$28,941,062
CSU Fullerton	$26,329,053	$26,329,053
CSU Northridge	$22,818,177	$23,425,818
UC Riverside	$20,939,408	$21,347,393
Utah Valley	$19,489,061	$18,435,237
CSU Bakersfield	$18,667,097	$17,995,313

The following table shows revenue specifically from NCAA / Conference Distributions, Media Rights, and Post-Season Football reported by the Knight Commission for the 2023-24 academic year.

Institution	2023–24 distribution (millions of dollars)
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa	$7.55
University of California, Davis	$2.16
California Polytechnic State University	$1.91
University of California, Santa Barbara	$1.83
California State University, Sacramento	$1.41
University of California, Irvine	$1.35
California State University, Long Beach	$1.34
University of California, Riverside	$1.22
Utah Valley University	$1.14
California State University, Fullerton	$1.06
California State University, Bakersfield	$0.79
California State University, Northridge	$0.68
University of California, San Diego	$0.46
California Baptist University[a]	N/A

Notes

1. California Baptist University is a private university, and is therefore not required to submit data to the Knight Commission. Thus, information regarding revenue and expenses on athletics is received from the United States Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2024-25 school year.^[42] No data is able to be acquired regarding NCAA/Conference Distributions, Media Rights, and Post-Season Football.

Facilities

School	Basketball arena	Capacity	Baseball stadium	Capacity	Soccer stadium	Capacity
Cal State Bakersfield	Icardo Center	3,800	Hardt Field	900	Main Soccer Field	2,500
Cal Poly	Mott Athletics Center	3,032	Robin Baggett Stadium	3,138	Mustang Memorial Field[43]	11,075
Cal State Fullerton	Titan Gym	4,000	Goodwin Field	3,500	Titan Stadium	10,000
Cal State Northridge	Premier America Credit Union Arena	2,400	Matador Field	1,000	Matador Soccer Field	1,550
California Baptist	Fowler Events Center	5,050	James W. Totman Stadium	800	CBU Soccer Stadium	500
Hawaiʻi	Stan Sheriff Center	10,300	Les Murakami Stadium	4,312	Waipiʻo Soccer Stadium	4,500
Long Beach State	Walter Pyramid	5,000[44]	Blair Field	3,238	George Allen Field	1,000
Sacramento State	Hornets Nest	1,012	John Smith Field	1,200	Hornet Soccer Field	1,500
UC Davis	University Credit Union Center	7,600	Dobbins Stadium	3,500	Aggie Field	1,000
UC Irvine	Bren Events Center	5,000[45]	Cicerone Field	3,408	Anteater Stadium	2,500
UC Riverside	Student Recreation Center	3,168	Riverside Sports Complex	2,500	UCR Soccer Stadium	900
UC San Diego	LionTree Arena	4,200	Triton Ballpark	1,200	Triton Soccer Stadium	1,750
UC Santa Barbara	The Thunderdome	5,600	Caesar Uyesaka Stadium	1,000	Harder Stadium	17,000
Utah Valley	UCCU Center	8,500	UCCU Ballpark	5,000	Clyde Field	1,000

NCAA team championships

Through June 30, 2025^[46]

School	Total NCAA	NCAA Men's	NCAA Women's	NCAA Individual	Nickname
California Baptist University	0	0	0	0	Lancers
California Polytechnic State University	12	0	0	12	Mustangs
California State University, Bakersfield	9	0	0	9	Roadrunners
California State University, Fullerton	8	4	1	3	Titans
California State University, Long Beach	23	4	3	16	Beach
California State University, Northridge	6	0	0	6	Matadors
California State University, Sacramento	3	0	0	3	Hornets
University of California, Davis	2	0	0	2	Aggies
University of California, Irvine	10	7	0	3	Anteaters
University of California, Riverside	1	0	0	1	Highlanders
University of California, San Diego	0	0	0	0	Tritons
University of California, Santa Barbara	3	2	0	1	Gauchos
University of Hawaii	16	2	3	11	Rainbows
Utah Valley University	1	0	0	1	Wolverines

Commissioner's Cup

Starting during the Big West Conference's 1998–99 season, the Commissioner's Cup is awarded yearly to the most outstanding program throughout the season in the conference's sponsored sports.^[47] The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the most successful team to date having won 10 total trophies.^[48]

Year	Institution	Champion­ships competed	Total points	Average	Title #
1998–99	Pacific Tigers	12	620	51.7	1
1999–00	Pacific Tigers	12	600	50.0	2
2000–01	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	16	870	54.4	1
2001–02	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	16	2,020	126.3	2
2002–03	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	16	2,070	129.4	3
2003–04	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	16	2,210	138.1	4
2004–05	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	16	2,180	136.3	5
2005–06	Long Beach State 49ers	13	1,640	126.2	1
2006–07	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	16	1,800	112.5	6
2007–08	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	16	2,046	127.9	7
2008–09	Long Beach State 49ers	14	1,540	110.0	2
2009–10	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	17	1,970	115.9	8
2010–11	Long Beach State 49ers	14	1,830	130.7	3
2011–12	Long Beach State 49ers	14	1,960	140.0	4
2012–13	Long Beach State 49ers	14	1,950	139.3	5
2013–14	Long Beach State 49ers	14	1,740	124.3	6
2014–15	Long Beach State 49ers	14	1,640	117.1	7
2015–16	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	15	2,006.7	133.8	9
2016–17	Long Beach State 49ers	15	1,750	116.7	8
2017–18	Cal State Fullerton Titans	14	1,635	116.8	1
2018–19	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	16	1,930	120.6	10
2019–20	Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020–21
2021–22	Long Beach State Beach	16	2,260	141.3	9
2022–23	Long Beach State Beach	16	2,360	147.5	10
2023–24	Cal Poly Mustangs	16	2,390	149.4	1
2024-25	UC Irvine Anteaters	17	2,530	148.8	1

Overall Commissioner's Cups Table

Institution	Commissioner's Cups
Long Beach State 49ers/Beach	10
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	10
Pacific Tigers	2
Cal Poly Mustangs	1
Cal State Fullerton Titans	1
UC Irvine Anteaters	1

Note 1: Bold indicates current members of the Big West Conference
Note 2: The Pacific Tigers moved to the West Coast Conference in 2013

SoCal Challenge

Starting in 2021, the Big West Conference served as host of the SoCal Challenge,^[49] an eight-team men's basketball tournament held during Monday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. One Big West team represented the conference in the field of each tournament. Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Bakersfield participated in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The final tournament was held in 2023.

See also

• Big West Conference men's basketball tournament
• Big West Conference women's basketball tournament
• List of Big West Conference baseball champions
• Big West Conference men's soccer tournament
• Big West Conference women's soccer tournament
• Big West Conference women's volleyball