West Coast Conference

The West Coast Conference (WCC) is a college sports conference (group of sports teams that play against each other) in the western United States. There are many sports in the conference. The conference does not have football, and only one of its current members has a football team.

The WCC began in 1952 when five schools in and around the San Francisco Bay Area formed the California Basketball Association. The league was then called the West Coast Athletic Conference from 1956 to 1989.

All 10 of its current members were founded by churches. Eight of the colleges are Catholic schools. Only the University of the Pacific, which was started by Methodists, no longer gets money from a church.

Members

Current

School Location Founded Type Joined Sport(s) Current main conference Nickname
United States Air Force Academy (Air Force) USAF Academy, Colorado 1954 Federal 2023 water polo, Men'sMen's water polo Mountain West Falcons
Augusta University Augusta, Georgia 1828 Public 2025 golf, Men's and women'sMen's and women's golf Peach Belt
(NCAA Division II)
Jaguars
California Baptist University Riverside, California 1950 Private
(Baptist)
2023 water polo, Men'sMen's water polo WAC
(Big West in 2026)
Lancers
Creighton University Omaha, Nebraska 1878 Private
Jesuit
2010 rowing, Women'sWomen's rowing Big East Bluejays
Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 1868 Public 2024 Multiple Pac-12 Beavers
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State) Sacramento, California 1947 Public 2024 rowing, Women'sWomen's rowing Big Sky
(Big West in 2026)
Hornets
San Jose State University San Jose, California 1857 Public
(CSU)
2023 water polo, Men'sMen's water polo Mountain West Spartans
Washington State University Pullman, Washington 1880 Public 2024 Multiple Pac-12 Cougars

Future

Two schools will join the WCC in the near future, one in 2026 and the other in 2027.

School Location Founded Type Nickname Joining
WCC
University of Denver Denver, Colorado 1864 Private
Nonsectarian[a]
Pioneers 2026
University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) La Jolla, California[b] 1960 Public
University of California
Tritons 2027
  1. While founded and originally run by Methodists, Denver has been nonsectarian since its founding.
  2. La Jolla is a San Diego neighborhood with its own post office.

Associate members

The WCC has eight "associate members". Five play one sport in the conference, and one plays two sports. All are full members of other Division I conferences except Augusta, an NCAA Division II member that fields Division I teams in men's and women's golf. The others are Oregon State and Washington State, which were left behind by the collapse of the Pac-12 Conference in 2024. They are housing most of their sports in the WCC through the 2025–26 school year. After that time, the Pac-12 will resume play with seven new members, among them current WCC member Gonzaga.

West Coast Conference Media

References