Big West Conference

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

Big West Conference
Big West Conference logo
Established	1969
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I non-football
Members	10
Sports fielded	16 (men's: 7; women's: 9)
Region	West Coast
Former names	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Headquarters	Irvine, California
Commissioner	Dennis Farrell (since 1992)
Website	bigwest.org
Locations
Big West Conference locations

The Big West Conference (BWC) is an NCAA-affiliated Division I mid-major college athletic conference. 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

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 - 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 three of the original seven charter members remain (Long Beach State, Pacific, and UC Santa Barbara; in 2013, Pacific will leave).

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. Despite the eventual departure of all non-California based teams, the widely-known "Big West Conference" name has remained constant.

Membership

Current members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	NCAA Team Championships
Cal Poly !California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)	Mustangs	San Luis Obispo, California	1901	1996	Public (California State University system)	19,777	0
California State University, Fullerton (Cal State Fullerton)	Titans	Fullerton, California	1957	1974	Public (California State University system)	36,996	14
California State University, Northridge (Cal State Northridge)	Matadors	Northridge, California	1958	2001	Public (California State University system)	36,207	0
Hawaii !University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa	Rainbow Warriors Rainbows Warriors Rainbow Wahine	Honolulu, Hawaii	1907	2012	Public (University of Hawaiʻi system)	20,435	3
Long Beach !California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State)	49ers	Long Beach, California	1949	1969	Public (California State University system)	37,890	4
Pacific !University of the Pacific	Tigers	Stockton, California	1851	1969, 1971	Private	3,740	2
University of California, Davis (UC Davis)	Aggies	Davis, California	1908	2007	Public (University of California system)	31,426	1
University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine)	Anteaters	Irvine, California	1965	1977	Public (University of California system)	27,631	3
University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside)	Highlanders	Riverside, California	1954	2001	Public (University of California system)	20,746	0
University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara)	Gauchos	Santa Barbara, California	1905	1969, 1976	Public (University of California system)	20,559	2

Note

• All but one of the current full members are public institutions, with all but one located in California. Pacific has announced its intention to rejoin the West Coast Conference in 2013.

Affiliate members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Joined	Affiliation	Enrollment	NCAA Team Championships	Primary Conference	Big West Sport(s)
Sacramento !California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)	Hornets	Sacramento, California	1947	2012	Public (California State University system)	24,388	0	Big Sky	Men's soccer
San Diego State University	Aztecs	San Diego, California	1897	2012	Public (California State University system)	33,790	0	Mountain West	Women's water polo

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 the 2010–12 conference realignment, only Hawaii has 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).

Institution	Nickname	Location	Membership Type	Joined	Left	Current Conference
Arkansas State University	Indians	Jonesboro, Arkansas	Football only	1993, 1999	1996, 2001	Sun Belt
Boise State University	Broncos	Boise, Idaho	Full member	1996	2001	Mountain West
California State University, Fresno	Bulldogs	Fresno, California	Full member	1969	1992	Mountain West
California State University, Los Angeles	Golden Eagles	Los Angeles, California	Full member	1969	1974	CCAA
Idaho !University of Idaho	Vandals	Moscow, Idaho	Full member	1996	2005	WAC*
Louisiana Tech University	Bulldogs	Ruston, Louisiana	Football only	1993	1996	WAC*
Unlv !University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Rebels	Las Vegas, Nevada	Full member	1982	1996	Mountain West
Nevada !University of Nevada, Reno	Wolf Pack	Reno, Nevada	Full member	1992	2000	Mountain West
New Mexico State University	Aggies	Las Cruces, New Mexico	Full member	1983	2000	WAC
North Texas !University of North Texas	Mean Green	Denton, Texas	Full member	1996	2000	Sun Belt*
Northern Illinois University	Huskies	DeKalb, Illinois	Football only	1993	1996	MAC
San Diego State University	Aztecs	San Diego, California	Full member	1969	1978	Mountain West
San Jose State University	Spartans	San Jose, California	Full member	1969	1996	WAC*
Southwestern Louisiana !University of Southwestern Louisiana	Ragin' Cajuns	Lafayette, Louisiana	Football only	1993	1996	Sun Belt
Utah State University	Aggies	Logan, Utah	Full member	1978	2005	WAC*

Note

• Asterisk (*) indicates school has announced intention to change conferences in the near future. All schools so indicated will move in 2013 except for Idaho, which will move in 2014.

Membership timeline

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

File:BigWestLocations.png

Locations of Big West Conference full member institutions for the 2012-13 academic year.

Notes

• UC Santa Barbara was an independent from 1974–1976.

Sports

The Big West sponsors chmpionship competition in seven men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports:

Teams in Big West Conference competition

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	10	-
Basketball	10	10
Cross Country	8	10
Golf	9	7
Soccer	8	10
Softball	-	9
Tennis	7	10
Track and Field (Outdoor)	8	8
Volleyball	-	10
Water polo	-	8

The Big West is strong in several sports. Baseball and Women's Volleyball have been the strongest because of the number of championships won. Cal State Fullerton has won 4 College World Series in 1979, 1984, 1995, and 2004. Long Beach State has won 5 Women's Volleyball championships in 1972, 1973, 1989, 1993, 1998, the last three being NCAA sanctioned titles. In 1998 Misty May-Treanor led the 49ers to a 36-0 record on route to the program's most recent title. Pacific won back to back Women's Volleyball titles in 1985 and 1986.

When UNLV won the school's lone Division I Basketball Championship in 1990, by beating Duke University by a record setting margin of 30 points in the 103-73 victory, they were a member of the Big West Conference.

The current members of the Big West have won a total of nine NCAA national championships including UC Santa Barbara’s most recent Men’s Soccer Championship in 2006.

Champions

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 Long Beach State (2012), who won the tournament as the number 1 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

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)
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.

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	1,600	Matador Field	1,000	Matador Soccer Field'	1,550
Hawaiʻi	Stan Sheriff Center	10,300	Les Murakami Stadium	4,312	Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium	4,500
Long Beach State	Walter Pyramid	5,000	Blair Field	3,238	George Allen Field	1,000
Pacific	Alex G. Spanos Center	6,150	Klein Family Field	2,500	Knoles Field	???
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	UC Riverside Student Recreation Center	3,168	Riverside Sports Complex	2,500	UCR Soccer Stadium	1,156
UC Santa Barbara	UCSB Events Center (the Thunderdome)	5,600	Caesar Uyesaka Stadium	1,000	Harder Stadium	17,000

External links

• Official website