Big West Conference: Difference between revisions

Big West Conference
Formerly	Pacific Coast Athletic Association (1969–1988)
Association	NCAA
Founded	July 1, 1969; 55 years ago
Commissioner	Dan Butterly (since July 1, 2020)
Sports fielded	19 men's: 9; women's: 10; ;
Division	Division I
Subdivision	Non–football
No. of teams	11
Headquarters	Irvine, California
Region	West Coast
Official website	www.bigwest.org
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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.

Among the conference's 11 member institutions, 10 are located in California (with nine located in Southern California alone) and one is located in Hawaii. All of the 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

Big West Conference Members locations

– Full members

– Associate members

Hawaii

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Big West Conference Members locations

– Full members

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 a number of 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 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, 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 its female student-athletes to 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, 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.

There have been no fewer than 25 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

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.^[9]

Member schools

Current members

Full members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Endowment (millions)^[10]	Nickname
California State University, Bakersfield (Bakersfield)^[11]	Bakersfield, California	1965	2020^[12]^[a]	Public (CSU system)	9,261	$37.16	Roadrunners
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly)	San Luis Obispo, California	1901	1996^[b]	Public (CSU system)	22,287	$265.26	Mustangs
California State University, Fullerton (Cal State Fullerton)	Fullerton, California	1957	1974	Public (CSU system)	38,726	$135.85	Titans
California State University, Northridge (Cal State Northridge)	Northridge, California^[c]	1958	2001	Public (CSU system)	38,511	$205.19	Matadors
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Hawaiʻi)	Honolulu, Hawaii	1907	2012^[d]	Public (U of H system)	19,074	$491.36 (system-wide)	Rainbow Warriors & Rainbow Wahine^[e]
California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State)	Long Beach, California	1949	1969	Public (CSU system)	39,360	$115.40	Beach^[f]
University of California, Davis (UC Davis)	Davis, California	1905	2007	Public (UC system)	40,772	$678.04	Aggies
University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine)	Irvine, California	1965	1977	Public (UC system)	37,243	$795.89	Anteaters
University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside)	Riverside, California	1954	2001	Public (UC system)	26,809	$249.87^[13]	Highlanders
University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego)	La Jolla, California^[g]	1960	2020^[h]	Public (UC system)	42,968	$1,360.84	Tritons
University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara)	Santa Barbara, California^[i]	1891	1969; 1976^[j]	Public (UC system)	26,421	$578.76	Gauchos

Notes

^ Before becoming a full member, Bakersfield had been a Big West affiliate in beach volleyball since the 2015–16 school year.
^ 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.
^ Northridge is one of many Los Angeles neighborhoods that have separate postal identities from the city.
^ 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.
^ The Hawaii beach volleyball team is officially Rainbow Wahine, but more commonly uses the nickname BeachBows.
^ 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.
^ La Jolla is a neighborhood of San Diego with a separate postal identity from the city.
^ 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.
^ The UCSB campus has a Santa Barbara mailing address, but entirely lies outside the city limits in the unincorporated community of Isla Vista.
^ 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.

Affiliate members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Primary conference	Big West sport(s)
University of Idaho	Vandals	Moscow, Idaho	1889	2024–25	Public	11,849	Big Sky	Men's golf
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)	Hornets^[a]	Sacramento, California	1947	2012–13	Public (CSU system)	30,670		Men's soccer
				2015–16				Beach volleyball
				2024–25				Men's golf

Notes

^ 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).^[14]^[15]

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 one 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
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^[a]
University of Idaho	Vandals	Moscow, Idaho	1889	1996	2005	Public	11,180	Big Sky
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)	Rebels	Las Vegas, Nevada^[b]	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	CUSA
University of North Texas	Mean Green	Denton, Texas	1890	1996	2000	Public	35,778	The American
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	West Coast

^ Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
^ 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 (California)	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Enrollment	Primary conference	Big West sport(s)
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona)	Broncos	Pomona	1938	1984–85	1989–90	Public	22,501	CCAA^[a]	softball
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)	Hornets	Sacramento	1947	1996–97	2001–02	Public	24,388	Big Sky	baseball
San Diego State University	Aztecs	San Diego	1897	2012–13	2012–13	Public	33,790	Mountain West	women's water polo

^ Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

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, 1999–2000	1995–96, 2000–01^[b]	Public	13,438	Sun Belt
Louisiana Tech University	Bulldogs	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	1993–94	1995–96	Public	11,581	Sun Belt	CUSA
Northern Illinois University	Huskies	DeKalb, Illinois	1895	1993–94	1995–96	Public	25,313	Mid-Continent^[c]	MAC
University of Southwestern Louisiana^[d]	Ragin' Cajuns	Lafayette, Louisiana	1898	1993	1996	Public	19,188	Sun Belt

Notes

^ Currently known as the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
^ 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).
^ Currently known as the Summit League.
^ Currently known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and branded for sports purposes as "Louisiana".

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 prior to 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 then rejoined the Big West for football during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Sports

The Big West Conference currently sponsors 19 NCAA sports, with men's water polo the newest addition for the 2023–24 school year.^[6]

In baseball, Cal State Fullerton has won four College World Series titles with national championships in 1979, 1984, 1995, and 2004.^[16] In addition, Long Beach State and UC Irvine 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, 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 and 2019. 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 double round-robin, 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.^[17]

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 will become 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 will remain eligible for such during the D-I transition.^[18]

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.

**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
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	Tennis	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Water polo	Total Sports
Bakersfield	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	4
Cal Poly	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	7
Cal State Fullerton	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	7
Cal State Northridge	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	7
Hawaiʻi	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	5
Long Beach State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	7
UC Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	8
UC Irvine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
UC Riverside	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	7
UC San Diego	Yes	Yes	Yes^[a]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
UC Santa Barbara	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Totals	11	11	8	10+2^[b]	9+1^[c]	7	10	6	6	77+3

^ Competes as an independent in Cross Country. Therefore are not included in the conference numbers.
^ Affiliate members Idaho and Sacramento State.
^ Affiliate member Sacramento State.

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]	Swimming & Diving^[d]	Track & Field (Indoor)	Wrestling
Bakersfield	No	No	No	MPSF	No	Pac-12
Cal Poly	No	Big Sky	No	MPSF	Independent	Pac-12
Cal State Fullerton	No	No	No	No	MPSF	No
Cal State Northridge	No	No	No	No	MPSF	No
Hawai'i	No	Mountain West	No	MPSF	No	No
Long Beach State	No	No	WIRA/ACRA	No	MPSF	No
UC Davis	No	Big Sky	No	No	No	No
UC Irvine	No	No	No	No	No	No
UC Riverside	No	No	No	No	Independent	No
UC San Diego	MPSF	No	IRA	MPSF	No	No
UC Santa Barbara	No	No	WIRA/ACRA	MPSF	Independent	No

^ 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.
^ Hawai'i competes at the FBS level, while Cal Poly and UC Davis compete at the FCS level.
^ 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.
^ The Big West will begin sponsoring swimming and diving for the 2024-25 season.

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Beach Volleyball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Water polo	Total Sports
Bakersfield	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	8
Cal Poly	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	9
Cal State Fullerton	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Cal State Northridge	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Hawaiʻi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Long Beach State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
UC Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
UC Irvine	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
UC Riverside	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	8
UC San Diego	Yes	No	Yes^[a]	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
UC Santa Barbara	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
Totals	11	6+1^[b]	11	9	11	10	10	11	11	8	97+1

^ Competes as an independent in Cross Country. Therefore are not included in the conference numbers.
^ Affiliate member Sacramento State.

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	Sailing	Swimming & Diving^[b]	Track & Field (Indoor)
Bakersfield	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF	Independent
Cal Poly	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF	Independent
Cal State Fullerton	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
Cal State Northridge	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
Hawai'i	No	No	No	No	No	PCCSC	MPSF	MPSF
Long Beach State	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
UC Davis	No	America East	MPSF	Big 12	No	No	MPSF	Independent
UC Irvine	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF
UC San Diego	MPSF	No	No	No	CAA	No	MPSF	No
UC Santa Barbara	No	No	No	No	No	No	MPSF	Independent

^ 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.
^ The Big West will begin sponsoring swimming and diving for the 2024-25 season.

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 will be added in 2024–25.^[19]

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

Season	Sport	Men's champion	Women's champion
Fall 2023	Cross country	Cal Poly	Cal Poly
	Soccer	Cal State Fullerton (RS) UC Irvine (T)	Cal State Fullerton (RS) UC Irvine (T)
	Water polo	UC Irvine (RS & T)
	Volleyball		UC Santa Barbara (RS) Hawaiʻi (T)
Winter 2023–24	Swimming & diving	To be added in 2024–25	To be added in 2024–25
Winter 2023–24	Basketball	UC Irvine (RS) Long Beach State (T)	Hawaiʻi (RS) UC Irvine (T)
Spring 2024	Golf	Long Beach State	Long Beach State
	Volleyball	Long Beach State (RS & T)
	Beach volleyball		Cal Poly (RS) Hawaiʻi (T)
	Tennis	UC Santa Barbara (RS) UC Irvine (T)	UC Santa Barbara (RS) Cal Poly (T)
	Water polo		Hawaiʻi (RS & T)
	Track & field (outdoor)	Cal Poly	Cal Poly
	Softball		Cal State Fullerton^[a]
	Baseball	UC Santa Barbara^[a]

^ ^a ^b The Big West does not currently hold a postseason tournament in baseball or softball, but will add both tournaments in the 2025 season.

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)^[20]

**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.^[21]

Facilities

School	Basketball arena	Capacity	Baseball stadium	Capacity	Soccer stadium	Capacity
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^[22]	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
Hawaiʻi	Stan Sheriff Center	10,300	Les Murakami Stadium	4,312	Waipiʻo Soccer Stadium	4,500
Long Beach State	Walter Pyramid	5,000^[23]	Blair Field	3,238	George Allen Field	1,000
Sacramento State	Men's Soccer Member Only				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	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 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

Commissioner's Cup

Started during the Big West Conference's 1998–99 season, the Commissioner's Cup is awarded yearly to the most outstanding program over the course of the season in the conference's sponsored sports.^[24] The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the most successful team to date having won 10 total trophies.^[25]

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	Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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	5

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

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

Since 2021, the Big West Conference has served as host of the SoCal Challenge,^[26] an eight-team men's basketball tournament held during Monday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. One Big West team represents the conference in the field of each tournament. Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge participated in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

References

^ ^a ^b "California Colleges Form New conference". The San Bernardino Sun. San Bernardino, California. June 11, 1968. Retrieved December 2, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Pickard, Don (June 18, 1968). "Cal State PCAA Entry Being Probed". The Independent. Pasadena, California. Retrieved December 2, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "New league being formed". Redlands Daily Facts. Redlands, California. October 18, 1968. Retrieved December 2, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Miles, Jerry (May 16, 1969). "Pacific Eight Gets New Rival". Progress Bulletin. Pomona, California. Retrieved December 2, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Dhillon, Jagdip (March 29, 2012). "Tigers back 'home'". The Record. Stockton, California. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "About The Big West Conference". Big West Conference. Archived from the original on August 10, 2001. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "PCAA to Change Name to Big West". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 4, 1988. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
^ "Big West Conference Logos". SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
^ Reid, Jason (February 19, 1996). "This Conference Now Little West". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
^ As of June 30, 2023. "U.S. and Canadian 2023 NCSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2023 Endowment Market Value, Change in Market Value from FY22 to FY23, and FY23 Endowment Market Values Per Full-time Equivalent Student" (XLSX). National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). February 15, 2024. Archived from the original on May 23, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
^ "Brand Guidelines" (PDF). Bakersfield Roadrunners. September 11, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
^ "UC San Diego makes it official: It's joining Div. I, Big West". San Diego Union-Tribune. November 27, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "University of California Annual Endowment Report Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2023" (PDF). Office of the President. University of California. November 13, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
^ "MEN'S SOCCER JOINS BIG WEST CONFERENCE". Sacramento State Hornets. July 5, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
^ "Sand Volleyball to Join the Big West Conference". Sacramento State Hornets. June 26, 2015. Archived from the original on Dec 23, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
^ "College World Series: Everything you need to know about Cal State Fullerton". NCAA.com. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
^ "Big West Announces 2012 Baseball Awards". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-03-07./story.asp?story_id=19222
^ "CSU Bakersfield, UC San Diego to Join Big West Conference". Retrieved 2017-11-30.
^ "About The Big West". Big West Conference. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
^ Big West Football. Web.archive.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-17.
^ Big West Conference. Web.archive.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-17.
^ "Cal Poly's Football and Soccer Stadium Has a New Field Name". gopoly.com. November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
^ "The Mike and Arlene Walter Pyramid". California State University, Long Beach. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
^ "Area Notebook: Long Beach State captures fourth straight BWC Comissioner's [sic] Cup". Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. May 28, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
^ "Big West Commissioner's Cup History". Big West Conference. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
^ "Buckets & Beaches: Southern California's Premier NCAA D1 Men's College Basketball Tournament". Southern California Challenge. Retrieved November 23, 2022.

External links

Official website

[13] Before becoming a full member, Bakersfield had been a Big West affiliate in beach volleyball since the 2015–16 school year.

[14] 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.

[15] Northridge is one of many Los Angeles neighborhoods that have separate postal identities from the city.

[16] 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.

[17] The Hawaii beach volleyball team is officially Rainbow Wahine, but more commonly uses the nickname BeachBows.

[18] 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.

[20] La Jolla is a neighborhood of San Diego with a separate postal identity from the city.

[21] 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.

[22] The UCSB campus has a Santa Barbara mailing address, but entirely lies outside the city limits in the unincorporated community of Isla Vista.

[23] 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.

[26] 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).^[14]^[15]

[D2-27] Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

[28] 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.

[D2-29] Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.

[30] Currently known as the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

[31] 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).

[32] Currently known as the Summit League.

[33] Currently known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and branded for sports purposes as "Louisiana".

[37] Competes as an independent in Cross Country. Therefore are not included in the conference numbers.

[38] Affiliate members Idaho and Sacramento State.

[39] Affiliate member Sacramento State.

[40] 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.

[41] Hawai'i competes at the FBS level, while Cal Poly and UC Davis compete at the FCS level.

[42] 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.

[43] The Big West will begin sponsoring swimming and diving for the 2024-25 season.

[44] Competes as an independent in Cross Country. Therefore are not included in the conference numbers.

[45] Affiliate member Sacramento State.

[46] 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.

[47] The Big West will begin sponsoring swimming and diving for the 2024-25 season.

[BaseSoft-49] The Big West does not currently hold a postseason tournament in baseball or softball, but will add both tournaments in the 2025 season.

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v t e Big West Conference
Full members	Bakersfield Roadrunners Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs Cal State Fullerton Titans Cal State Northridge Matadors Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine Long Beach State Beach UC Davis Aggies UC Irvine Anteaters UC Riverside Highlanders UC San Diego Tritons UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Associate members	Idaho Vandals (men's golf) Sacramento State Hornets (beach volleyball, men's soccer, men's golf)

v t e NCAA Division I all-sports conferences
FBS	The American Atlantic Coast Big 12 Big Ten CUSA Mid-American Mountain West Pac-12 Southeastern Sun Belt
FCS - Full	Big Sky Ivy MEAC Northeast Patriot SoCon Southland SWAC
FCS - Alliance	BSOVC (Big South / Ohio Valley) CAA FB (CAA / Atlantic 10 / America East) Missouri Valley FB (Missouri Valley / Summit) United (ASUN / WAC)
Non-Football	Big East Big West Horizon MAAC West Coast