Big West Conference
| Big West Conference | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1969 |
| Association | NCAA |
| Division | Division I |
| Subdivision | non-football |
| Members | 9 (11 in 2020) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Region | West Coast |
| Former names | Pacific Coast Athletic Association (1969–1988) |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California |
| Commissioner | Dennis Farrell (since 1992) |
| Website | www.bigwest.org |
| Locations | |
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 in 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.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Pacific Coast Athletic Association
1.2 Evolution
1.3 The change to the Big West
2 Member schools
2.1 Current members
2.1.1 Full members
2.1.2 Affiliate members
2.2 Future members
2.3 Former members
2.3.1 Former full members
2.3.2 Former affiliate members
2.3.3 Former football-only members
2.4 Membership timeline
3 Sports
3.1 Men's sponsored sports by school
3.2 Women's sponsored sports by school
3.3 Former sports
3.4 Football
4 Facilities
5 Commissioner's Cup
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
History
Locations of Big West Conference full member institutions.
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 the recognized creation date with the 7 institutions.[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, and Boise 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).
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.[8]
Member schools
Current members
Full members
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Enrollment (Fall 2016) | NCAA Team Championships | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) | Mustangs | San Luis Obispo, California | 1901 | 1996[a] | Public (CSU system) | 21,306 | 1 | |
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) | Titans | Fullerton, California | 1957 | 1974 | Public (CSU system) | 40,235 | 4 | |
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) | Matadors | Northridge, California | 1958 | 2001 | Public (CSU system) | 39,916 | 0 | |
University of Hawaii at Manoa (Hawaiʻi) | Rainbow Warriors & Rainbow Wahine[b] | Honolulu, Hawaii | 1907 | 2012 | Public (U of HI system) | 17,612 | 3 | |
California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State) | 49ers[c] | Long Beach, California | 1949 | 1969 | Public (CSU system) | 37,776 | 5 | |
University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | Aggies | Davis, California | 1908 | 2007 | Public (UC system) | 36,441 | 1 | |
University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) | Anteaters | Irvine, California | 1965 | 1977 | Public (UC system) | 33,467 | 7 | |
University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) | Highlanders | Riverside, California | 1954 | 2001 | Public (UC system) | 22,921 | 0 | |
University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara) | Gauchos | Santa Barbara, California | 1905 | 1969, 1976[d] | Public (UC system) | 24,346 | 2 |
- Notes
^ Cal Poly was an affiliate member in women's volleyball from 1984-85 to 1989-90.
^ The Hawaii beach volleyball team is officially Rainbow Wahine, but more commonly uses the nickname SandBows.
^ The Long Beach State baseball team uses the nickname Dirtbags instead of 49ers.
^ UC Santa Barbara joined the conference when it was founded in 1969, left to become an independent after the 1973–74 school year, then rejoined for the 1976-77 school year.
Affiliate members
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Enrollment (Fall 2017) | Primary conference | Big West sport(s) | NCAA Team Championships (Division I) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State) | Hornets | Sacramento, California | 1947 | 2012[a] | Public (CSU system) | 30,670 | Big Sky | men's soccer beach volleyball | 0 |
California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) | Roadrunners | Bakersfield, California | 1965 | 2015[b] | Public (CSU system) | 9,863 | WAC | beach volleyball | 0 |
University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) | Tritons | La Jolla, California | 1960 | 2017[c] | Public (UC system) | 36,624 | CCAA (D–II) | men's volleyball (2018) women's water polo (2019) | 0 |
- Notes
^ Sacramento State men's soccer joined the Big West Conference in the 2012 season (2012–13 school year) and beach volleyball followed for the 2016 season (2015–16 school year).[9][10]
^ CSU Bakersfield beach volleyball joined the Big West Conference in the 2016 season.[11]
^ UC San Diego men's volleyball joined the Big West Conference for the 2018 season (2017–18 school year).[12]
Future members
| Institution | Nickname | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joining | NCAA Team Championships (Division I) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) | Roadrunners | Bakersfield, California | 1965 | Public (CSU system) | 8,720 | July 1, 2020[13] | 0 |
University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego)[a] | Tritons | La Jolla, California | 1960 | Public (UC system) | 33,735 | July 1, 2020[13] | 0 |
- Notes
^ UC San Diego will begin the transition from Division II to Division I at the same time as it joins the Big West and will not be eligible to compete for the league’s NCAA automatic qualification in single-site championship sports until July 1, 2024.[13]
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 Conference |
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) | Bulldogs | Fresno, California | 1911 | 1969 | 1992 | Public | 22,565 | Mountain West Conference |
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State L.A.) | Golden Eagles | Los Angeles, California | 1947 | 1969 | 1974 | Public | 20,619 | CCAA (Division II) |
University of Idaho | Vandals | Moscow, Idaho | 1889 | 1996 | 2005 | Public | 11,180 | Big Sky Conference |
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) | Rebels | Paradise, Nevada | 1957 | 1982 | 1996 | Public | 28,203 | Mountain West Conference |
University of Nevada, Reno | Wolf Pack | Reno, Nevada | 1874 | 1992 | 2000 | Public | 18,227 | Mountain West Conference |
New Mexico State University | Aggies | Las Cruces, New Mexico | 1888 | 1983 | 2000 | Public | 18,497 | Western Athletic Conference |
University of North Texas | Mean Green | Denton, Texas | 1890 | 1996 | 2000 | Public | 35,778 | Conference 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 Conference |
San Jose State University | Spartans | San Jose, California | 1857 | 1969 | 1996 | Public | 32,697 | Mountain West Conference |
Utah State University | Aggies | Logan, Utah | 1888 | 1978 | 2005 | Public | 28,796 | Mountain West Conference |
University of the Pacific | Tigers | Stockton, California | 1851 | 1969 (football-only); 1971 (all sports) | 2013 | Private | 6,296 | West Coast Conference |
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[14] | Indians[a] | 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 | Mid-Continent[b] | MAC |
University of Southwestern Louisiana[c] | Ragin' Cajuns | Lafayette, Louisiana | 1898 | 1993 | 1996 | Public | 16,885 | Sun Belt | |
- Notes
^ Currently known as the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
^ Currently known as the Summit League.
^ Currently known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, with athletic branding as "Louisiana".