Big West Conference

This article is about an American college sports organization. For the Japanese advertising agency, see Big West Advertising.

Big West Conference
Established	1969
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I non-football
Members	9
Sports fielded	18 (men's: 8; women's: 10)
Region	West Coast
Former names	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Headquarters	Irvine, California
Commissioner	Dennis Farrell (since 1992)
Website	www.bigwest.org
Locations

The Big West Conference (BWC) is a mid-major collegiate athletic conference that is classified with NCAA Division I. When the conference began in 1969, its name was the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA). After nineteen years, in 1988, its name was changed to the Big West Conference. The conference stopped sponsoring college football after the 2000 season.

History

Locations of Big West Conference full member institutions.

Creation of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association

The Big West Conference was formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The charter all-sports members of the PCAA were Cal State Los Angeles, Fresno State, Long Beach State, San Diego State, San Jose State, and UC Santa Barbara. The University of the Pacific joined only for football, becoming an all-sports member two years later.

Four of these charter members (Cal State Los Angeles, Fresno State, Long Beach State, and San Diego State) had previously been members of the nation's premier Division II conference, the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). After capturing multiple national championships, the members sought a higher level of play, which could be found within the university ranks. Charter football member Pacific and charter all-sports members San Jose State and UC Santa Barbara had also been CCAA members in the past, but had moved to the West Coast Athletic Conference (now West Coast Conference) before joining the PCAA.

The seven schools formally met in May 1969 and finalized the creation of the PCAA less than two months later.

Evolution

Since its inception as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, the conference has seen many changes throughout the years. Utah State was the first institution outside of California to join the conference in 1978. This opened the floodgates for many other schools to affiliate with the PCAA; notable schools include UNLV, Nevada, Louisiana Tech, and Boise State, among others.

Big West Conference Sports Baseball - men's Basketball - men's and women's Cross Country - men's and women's Golf - men's and women's Soccer - men's and women's Softball - women's Tennis - men's and women's Track & Field - men's and women's Volleyball - men's and women's Water Polo - women's

In 1983, the PCAA became the first western conference to introduce women's athletic programs, giving the opportunity for all its members to have their women student-athletes compete at the same level as their male counterparts. This proved vital for Hawaiʻi as their only participation in the conference was for their women's sports.

However, turnover of universities started to take its toll. Many 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 Hawaiʻi in 2012, all members were based in California, reducing both the cost and travel time between the universities. When Hawaiʻi joined, it agreed to help defray a portion of travel costs to that state for the league's California members. Between full and associate members, there have been no fewer than 25 members in the conference's history, while only two of the original seven charter members remain (Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara).

The change to the Big West

To mark its 20th year as an athletic conference, in 1988 the Pacific Coast Athletic Association decided to change its name to the Big West Conference. The move signaled the changing landscape within the conference. With such schools as Utah State, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico State, and Hawaii now in the fold, the name change was more representative of the population. 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 12 so the name Big West fit the "big" theme.

Member schools

Current members

Full members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	NCAA Team Championships
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)1	Mustangs	San Luis Obispo, California	1901	1996	Public (Cal State system)	19,777	1
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF)	Titans	Fullerton, California	1957	1974	Public (Cal State system)	38,996	4
California State University, Northridge (Northridge)	Matadors	Northridge, California	1958	2001	Public (Cal State system)	36,207	0
University of Hawaii at Manoa (Hawaiʻi)	Rainbow Warriors Rainbow Wahine	Honolulu, Hawaii	1907	2012	Public (U. of Hawaiʻi system)	20,435	3
California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State)	49ers	Long Beach, California	1949	1969	Public (Cal State system)	37,890	4
University of California, Davis (UC Davis)	Aggies	Davis, California	1908	2007	Public (UC system)	31,426	1
University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine)	Anteaters	Irvine, California	1965	1977	Public (UC system)	27,631	7
University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside)	Highlanders	Riverside, California	1954	2001	Public (UC system)	21,669	0
University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara)	Gauchos	Santa Barbara, California	1905	1969, 1976	Public (UC system)	20,559	2

Notes

^* - Cal Poly competed in women's volleyball as an affiliate member from 1984-85 to 1989-90

Affiliate members

Institution	Nickname	Location (California)	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Primary Conference	Big West Sport(s)	NCAA Team Championships (Division I)
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)	Hornets	Sacramento	1947	2012	Public (Cal State system)	24,388	Big Sky	men's soccer beach volleyball	0
California State University, Bakersfield (CSU Bakersfield)	Roadrunners	Bakersfield	1965	2015	Public (Cal State system)	8,720	Western Athletic Conference	beach volleyball	0
University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego)	Tritons	San Diego	1960	2018	Public (UC system)	33,735	CCAA (DII)	men's volleyball	0

Former members

Many of the former members of the Big West are now members of either 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 all 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 Louisiana–Lafayette) and one its nickname (Arkansas State, from Indians to Red Wolves).

Former full members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Enrollment	Current Conference
Boise State University	Broncos	Boise, Idaho	1932	1996	2001	Public	22,678	Mountain West
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State)	Bulldogs	Fresno, California	1911	1969	1992	Public	22,565	Mountain West
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State L.A.)	Golden Eagles	Los Angeles, California	1947	1969	1974	Public	20,619	CCAA (NCAA Division II)
University of Idaho	Vandals	Moscow, Idaho	1889	1996	2005	Public	11,180	Big Sky Sun Belt
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)	Rebels	Las Vegas, Nevada	1957	1982	1996	Public	28,203	Mountain West
University of Nevada, Reno	Wolf Pack	Reno, Nevada	1874	1992	2000	Public	18,227	Mountain West
New Mexico State University	Aggies	Las Cruces, New Mexico	1888	1983	2000	Public	18,497	WAC Sun Belt
University of North Texas	Mean Green	Denton, Texas	1890	1996	2000	Public	35,778	C-USA
San Diego State University	Aztecs	San Diego, California	1897	1969 (men's sports); 1984 (women's sports)	1978 (men's sports); 1990 (women's sports)	Public	28,789	Mountain West
San Jose State University	Spartans	San Jose, California	1857	1969	1996	Public	32,697	Mountain West
Utah State University	Aggies	Logan, Utah	1888	1978	2005	Public	28,796	Mountain West
University of the Pacific	Tigers	Stockton, California	1851	1969 (football-only); 1971 (all sports)	2013	Private	6,296	WCC

Former affiliate members

Institution	Nickname	Location (California)	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Enrollment	Primary Conference	Big West Sport(s)
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona)	Broncos	Pomona	1938	1984	1990	Public	22,501	CCAA (NCAA Division II)	softball
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)	Hornets	Sacramento	1947	1996	2002	Public	24,388	Big Sky	baseball
San Diego State University	Aztecs	San Diego	1897	2012	2013	Public	33,790	Mountain West	women's water polo

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	Indians1	Jonesboro, Arkansas	1909	1993, 1999	1996, 2001	Public	13,438	Sun Belt
Louisiana Tech University	Bulldogs	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	1993	1996	Public	11,581	Sun Belt	C-USA
Northern Illinois University	Huskies	DeKalb, Illinois	1895	1993	1996	Public	25,313	Summit	MAC
University of Southwestern Louisiana2	Ragin' Cajuns	Lafayette, Louisiana	1898	1993	1996	Public	16,885	Sun Belt

Note

1. - Currently known as the Arkansas State Red Wolves
2. - Currently known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Membership timeline

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

Notes

• UC Santa Barbara was an independent from 1974–75 to 1975–76.
• San Diego State played football as an independent for the 1976 and 1977 seasons prior to joining the WAC for all sports in 1978.
• 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 1996–98 and then rejoined the Big West for football during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Sports

The Big West Conference sponsors championship competition in seven men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports:

The conference is strong in several sports. In baseball, Cal State Fullerton has won four College World Series titles with national championships in 1979, 1984, 1995, and 2004. In addition, Long Beach State and UC Irvine both have made multiple appearances in the College World Series. Fullerton also has a national championship in softball, winning in 1984. Long Beach State has won three NCAA women's volleyball titles, with national championships in 1989, 1993, and 1998. Misty May-Treanor led the 49ers to a 36-0 record en route to the program's most recent title. UC Santa Barbara was 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 they were 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 does not sponsor men's volleyball or men's water polo, but it is 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 a men's volleyball title in 1991. 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 dubbed "An Evolution is Coming" that the Big West will now sponsor Men's Volleyball as its 18th sport. This means the Big West schools currently competing in the MPSF will leave that league for the Big West. The MPSF now has seen the loss of both Men's Water Polo and Men's Volleyball teams to form their own leagues. Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, Hawaii, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara are the current Big West teams to form membership of the league's newest sport. UC San Diego will join as an affiliate as the league's 6th member in Men's Volleyball to reach the NCAA minimum requirement of 6 teams to get an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. Big West Commissioner explains that adding UC San Diego is not an indicator that UC San Diego will be added to the Big West Conference as a full member. UC San Diego had recently passed a bill that they would move all their sports to Division I and are looking for an invite from the Big West Conference. UC San Diego has already competed in Division I Men's Volleyball prior to the vote. The Big West regular season for Men's Volleyball will be double round robin, each team playing another once at home and once on the road. The Big West Tournament for Men's Volleyball will have all 6 teams participate in single elimination rounds with the top 2 teams receiving semifinal byes.

Big West Conference teams

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	9	-
Basketball	9	9
Beach volleyball	-	6
Cross Country	8	9
Golf	9	8
Soccer	8	9
Softball	-	8
Tennis	6	9
Track and Field (Outdoor)	8	9
Volleyball	6	9
Water polo	-	6

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Total Sports
Cal Poly	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	7
Cal State Fullerton	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	6
Cal State Northridge	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	7
Hawaiʻi	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	5
Long Beach State	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	6
UC Davis	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	7
UC Irvine	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
UC Riverside	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	7
UC Santa Barbara	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Totals	9	9	8	9	7 + 1 *	6	8	5 + 1**	61 + 2

• *=affiliate member Sacramento State.
• **=affiliate member UC San Diego.

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

School	Football	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field (Indoor)	Water Polo	Wrestling
Cal Poly	Big Sky	MPSF	Independent	No	Pac-12
Cal State Northridge	No	No	MPSF	No	No
Hawai'i	Mountain West	MPSF	No	No	No
Long Beach State	No	No	MPSF	GCC	No
UC Davis	Big Sky	No	Independent	WWPA	No
UC Irvine	No	No	No	GCC	No
UC Riverside	No	No	Independent	No	No
UC Santa Barbara	No	MPSF	Independent	GCC	No

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Beach Volleyball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Water polo	Total Sports
Cal Poly	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	9
Cal State Fullerton	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
Cal State Northridge	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Hawaiʻi	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Long Beach State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
UC Davis	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
UC Irvine	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
UC Riverside	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	8
UC Santa Barbara	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Totals	9	4 + 2*	9	8	9	8	9	9	9	6	80 + 2

• * = Beach volleyball was added as a Big West sport in June 2015 with CSU Bakersfield and Sacramento State as Associate members.

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

School	Field Hockey	Gymnastics	Lacrosse	Sailing	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field (Indoor)
Cal Poly	No	No	No	No	MPSF	Independent
Cal State Fullerton	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
Cal State Northridge	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
Hawai'i	No	No	No	PCCSC	MPSF	MPSF
Long Beach State	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
UC Davis	America East	MPSF	MPSF	No	MPSF	Independent
UC Irvine	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
UC Santa Barbara	No	No	No	No	MPSF	Independent

Facilities

School	Basketball Arena	Capacity	Baseball Stadium	Capacity	Soccer Stadium	Capacity
Cal Poly	Mott Gym	3,032	Robin Baggett Stadium	1,734	Alex G. Spanos Stadium	11,075
Cal State Fullerton	Titan Gym	4,000	Goodwin Field	3,500	Titan Stadium	10,000
Cal State Northridge	Matadome	2,400	Matador Field	1,000	Matador Soccer Field	1,550
Hawaiʻi	Stan Sheriff Center	10,300	Les Murakami Stadium	4,312	Waipio Soccer Stadium	4,500
Long Beach State	Walter Pyramid	5,000	Blair Field	3,238	George Allen Field	1,000
Sacramento State	Men's Soccer Member Only				Hornet Field	1,500
UC Davis	The Pavilion	7,600	Dobbins Baseball Complex	3,500	Aggie Field	1,000
UC Irvine	Bren Events Center	4,984	Cicerone Field	2,900	Anteater Stadium	2,500
UC Riverside	Student Recreation Center	3,168	Riverside Sports Complex	2,500	UCR Soccer Stadium	900
UC Santa Barbara	The Thunderdome	5,600	Caesar Uyesaka Stadium	1,000	Harder Stadium	17,000

Champions

The Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs vs. the UCLA Bruins at the L.A. Regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium on June 1, 2013

Baseball

Main article: List of Big West Conference baseball champions

Men's Basketball

Main article: Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

The most recent winner of the Big West Conference Tournament is UC Irvine (2015), who won the tournament for the first time, as the number 3 seed.

Women's Basketball

Main article: Big West Conference Women's Basketball Tournament

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)

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.

External links

• Official website