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 12 member institutions, 11 are located in California (ten in Southern California alone), and one is located in Utah. All but one of the current schools are public universities. Historically, the California schools evenly split between the California State University and the University of California systems, however the loss of UC Davis in 2026 changed this. In addition, one affiliate member plays three sports in the BWC not sponsored by its home conference, with more joining in the 2027–28 season.
History
Pacific Coast Athletic Association The Big West Conference was formed in June 1968 as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The five original charter members were Fresno State, San Jose State, UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State, and Long Beach State. 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. 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. 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. The conference itself lists July 1, 1969, as its founding date, with the seven institutions beginning conference play that fall.
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. 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 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 Hawaiʻi in 2012, all members were based in California, reducing 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.
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. However, when the Big East decided to no longer sponsor football for the 2013 season, both San Diego State and Boise State 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 Ten, a domino effect occurred, ultimately resulting in both Hawaiʻi 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 its intention to join the Big West in all sports except football, effective by the 2026 school year, when 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. Seven months after, on April 10, 2026, UC Santa Barbara formally accepted an invite to the West Coast Conference for the 2027–28 season alongside UC San Diego. This would end their 51 years of continual conference membership, the second longest among all current and former members.
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 Effective July 1, 1988, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association changed its name to the Big West Conference. With such schools as Utah State, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico State, and Hawaiʻi now in the fold, the name change was more representative of its member institutions. 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.
Member schools Current full members Members departing for the West Coast Conference in 2027.
Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Median Earnings EndowmentAs of June 30, 2025. Nickname Joined Colors California Baptist University Riverside, California 1950 Baptist 11,491 $68,600 $186.08 Lancers 2026 San Luis Obispo, California 1901 Public 22,287 $90,662 $335.82 Mustangs 1996 California State University, Bakersfield Bakersfield, California 1965 Public 9,261 $59,109 $46.51 Roadrunners 2020 California State University, Fullerton Fullerton, California 1957 Public 38,726 $63,753 $162.08 Titans 1974 Long Beach, California 1949 Public 39,360 $63,140 $216.65 Beach 1969 California State University, Northridge Los Angeles, California 1958 Public 38,511 $59,664 $249.51 Matadors 2001 Sacramento, California 1947 Public 31,181 $64,511 $96.41 Hornets 2026 University of California, Irvine Irvine, California 1965 Public 37,243 $74,438 $1,028.00 Anteaters 1977 University of California, Riverside Riverside, California 1954 Public 26,809 $64,926 $321.52 Highlanders 2001 University of California, San Diego San Diego, California 1960 Public 42,968 $83,130 $1,792.38 Tritons 2020 University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California 1891 Public 26,421 $70,323 $830.35 Gauchos 1969; 1976 Utah Valley University Orem, Utah 1941 Public 48,670 $66,978 $129.70 Wolverines 2026
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Affiliate members Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Big Westsport(s) Primaryconference Honolulu, Hawaii 1907 Public 19,074 Rainbow Warriors& Rainbow Wahine 2026 Beach volleyball Mountain West
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Future affiliate members Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Joined Big Westsport(s) Primaryconference United States Air Force Academy Air Force Academy, Colorado 1954 Federal military academy 4,181 Falcons 2027 Men's water polo Mountain West California State University, Fresno Fresno, California 1911 Public 25,497 Bulldogs 2027 Women's water polo Pac-12 Grand Canyon University Phoenix, Arizona 1949 Private 103,427 Antelopes 2027 Beach volleyball Mountain West San Diego State University San Diego, California 1897 Public 39,241 Aztecs 2027 Pac-12 San Jose State University San Jose, California 1857 Public 37,133 Spartans 2027 Beach volleyball Mountain West University of California, San Diego San Diego, California 1960 Public 42,968 Tritons 2027 Men's Track and Field Big West(WCC in 2027) University of California, Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, California 1891 Public 26,421 Gauchos 2027 Men's Track and Field Big West(WCC in 2027)
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Former members Many of the former members of the Big West are now members of the Pac-12 Conference or the Mountain West Conference. For a time, many had been members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC; since renamed the United Athletic Conference). Of the nine schools that were in the WAC before its early-2010s realignment, only Hawaiʻi 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 Location Founded Type Nickname Joined Left Currentprimaryconference Boise State University Boise, Idaho 1932 Public Broncos 1996 2001 Pac-12 California State University, Fresno Fresno, California 1911 Public Bulldogs 1969 1992 Pac-12 California State University, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California 1947 Public Golden Eagles 1969 1974 California (CCAA) Davis, California 1905 Public Aggies 2007 2026 Mountain West (MW) Honolulu, Hawaii 1907 Public Rainbow Warriors &Rainbow Wahine 2012 2026 Mountain West (MW) Moscow, Idaho 1889 Public Vandals 1996 2005 Big Sky (BSC) Las Vegas, Nevada 1957 Public Rebels 1982 1996 Mountain West (MW) Reno, Nevada 1874 Public Wolf Pack 1992 2000 Mountain West (MW) New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico 1888 Public Aggies 1983 2000 Conf. USA (CUSA) Denton, Texas 1890 Public Mean Green 1996 2000 American Stockton, California 1851 UnitedMethodist Tigers 1971 2013 West Coast (WCC) San Diego State University San Diego, California 1897 Public Aztecs 1969 1978 Pac-12 San Jose State University San Jose, California 1857 Public Spartans 1969 1996 Mountain West (MW) Utah State University Logan, Utah 1888 Public Aggies 1978 2005 Pac-12
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Former affiliate members Institution Location Founded Type Nickname Joined Left Big Westsport(s) Primaryconference Pomona,California 1938 Public Broncos 1984 1990 Softball California (CCAA) Grand Canyon University Phoenix,Arizona 1949 Private Antelopes 2025 2026 Men's swimming and diving Mountain West Honolulu,Hawaii 1907 Public Rainbow Warriors& Rainbow Wahine 1984 1996 Women's sports Mountain West (MW) Moscow,Idaho 1889 Public Vandals 2024 2025 Men's golf Big Sky (BSC) Sacramento,California 1947 Public Hornets 1996 2002 Baseball Big West (BWC) 2012 2026 Men's soccer 2015 2026 Beach volleyball 2024 2025 Men's golf San Diego,California 1949 Catholic Toreros 2025 2026 Women's swimming and diving West Coast (WCC) San Diego,California 1897 Public Aztecs 1984 1990 Women's sports Pac-12 2012 2013 Women's water polo Seattle University Seattle,Washington 1891 Catholic Redhawks 2025 2026 Men's swimming and diving West Coast (WCC) Women's swimming and diving
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Former football-only members