Pacific West Conference

This article is about the current NCAA Division II conference. For the former NCAA Division I women's sports conference that briefly used this name, see Western Collegiate Athletic Association. For other uses, see PacWest.

Pacific West Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	1992
Commissioner	Jessica Harbison Weaver
Sports fielded	15 men's: 7 women's: 8
Division	Division II
No. of teams	11 (14 in 2024)
Headquarters	Irvine, California
Region	Pacific States
Official website	www.thepacwest.com
Locations

The Pacific West Conference (also known as the PacWest) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in California and Hawaii.

The conference sponsors the following sports: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field outdoor for both men and women; baseball for men only; softball and volleyball for women only. The newest PacWest sports are men's tennis and women's golf, both added in 2012–13. ^[1]

History

Formation

PacWest Conference (California)

[fullscreen map]

Location of PacWest members: current, future, and departing

PacWest Conference (Hawaii)

[fullscreen map]

Location of PacWest members: current

The PacWest was formed in 1992 when the Great Northwest Conference (a men's conference) merged with the Continental Divide Conference (a women's conference containing some of the same members), in response to the departures of several members and new NCAA legislation requiring conferences to have at least six members. ^[2] In addition, some Hawai'i-based colleges joined the new conference.

At one point the conference expanded to 16 members, but in 2001, member schools from Washington, Alaska, California, and Oregon left to form the new Great Northwest Athletic Conference. ^[2]

With the departure of the final two mainland members, Montana State University–Billings and Western New Mexico University, to join the Heartland Conference in 2005, the four Hawai'i universities played one season as “independents” after receiving a waiver from the NCAA to keep the conference in name, while searching for new members, because in order to be eligible for conference membership in the NCAA, a conference must consist of a minimum of six member institutions who sponsor at least ten sports, with two team sports for each gender.

New PacWest Conference

To comply with conference membership regulations, Hawai'i Pacific (HPU), Chaminade, BYU–Hawai'i and Hawai'i–Hilo added new sports to their programs. In July 2005, the Pacific West Conference voted to admit Notre Dame de Namur University as a provisional member, as it moved from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II. Grand Canyon University, formerly an NCAA D-II Independent, also joined the conference, returning the Pacific West Conference to full conference status with six members. Dixie State College of Utah joined the conference for the 2007–08 season. In 2008, it was announced that Academy of Art University would join the conference in the 2009–10 season as the conference's 8th member. In 2009 it was announced that Dominican University of California would join the conference in the 2009–10 season as the conference's 9th member. ^[3] That same year, the conference announced it would sponsor baseball as its 11th sport, with Hawai'i Pacific University, University of Hawai'i–Hilo, Dixie State College of Utah (now Utah Tech University), and Grand Canyon University competing on a Division II level. ^[4]

Recent expansion and contraction

The conference began expansion in 2010 when the PacWest invited California Baptist University, from the NAIA's Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) to join the conference beginning with the 2011–12 school year. ^[5] On June 1, 2011, the conference announced the additions of Azusa Pacific University, Fresno Pacific University and Point Loma Nazarene University, all members of the GSAC, ^[1] which began Pacific West Conference play during the 2012–13 season. Holy Names University was also added to the PacWest in 2011, but did not begin the NCAA Division II membership process from the NAIA until July 13, 2012. ^[6] As part of the transition process from NAIA to NCAA Holy Names remained ineligible for NCAA postseason play through 2015–16. ^[1] On November 27, 2012, Grand Canyon announced it would leave the PacWest after the 2012–13 school year to accept an invitation to join the Division I Western Athletic Conference. ^[7] In July 2016, it was announced that Biola University would join the PacWest for the 2017–18 season. In October 2016, Dixie State announced that it would transition from the PacWest to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after the 2017–18 school year. On January 13, 2017, California Baptist announced that it will leave the PacWest in favor of moving up to NCAA Division I. ^[8] On March 23, 2020, Notre Dame de Namur announced the cessation of all its athletics after the 2019–20 school year. ^[9]

Chronological timeline

• 1992 – The Pacific West Conference (PacWest) was founded due to a merger of the men's sports-only Great Northwest Conference and the women's sports-only Continental Divide Conference (which contained some of the same members). Charter members included the University of Alaska at Anchorage, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Grand Canyon University, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Montana State University at Billings, Portland State University (only for women's sports) and Seattle Pacific University, beginning the 1992–93 academic year.
• 1994 – Grand Canyon left the PacWest to join the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) after the 1993–94 academic year; while Western New Mexico University joined the conference in the 1994–95 academic year. ^[10]
• 1996 – Portland State's women's sports left the PacWest to fully align with their men's sports to join the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big Sky Conference after the 1995–96 academic year.
• 1998 – Brigham Young University–Hawai'i, Central Washington University, Hawai'i Pacific University, Humboldt State University (now California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt), Saint Martin's University, Western Oregon University and Western Washington University joined the PacWest in the 1998–99 academic year.
• 1999 – Northwest Nazarene University and Seattle University joined the PacWest in the 1999–2000 academic year.
• 2001 – Alaska–Anchorage (UAA), Alaska–Fairbanks (UAF), Central Washington, Humboldt State (now Cal Poly–Humboldt), Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin's, Seattle, Seattle Pacific, Western Oregon and Western Washington left the PacWest to form the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) after the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2005 – Montana State–Billings and Western New Mexico left the PacWest to join the Heartland Conference after the 2004–05 academic year.
• 2005 – Notre Dame de Namur University joined the PacWest as a provisional full member (along with Grand Canyon re-joining), both effective in the 2005–06 academic year.
• 2007 – Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) joined the PacWest in the 2007–08 academic year.
• 2009 – Academy of Art University and Dominican University of California joined the PacWest in the 2009–10 academic year.
• 2011 – California Baptist University (Cal Baptist) joined the PacWest in the 2011–12 academic year.
• 2012 – Azusa Pacific University, Fresno Pacific University, Holy Names University and Point Loma Nazarene University joined the PacWest in the 2012–13 academic year.
• 2013 – Grand Canyon left the PacWest to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) after the 2012–13 academic year.
• 2013 – Sonoma State University joined the PacWest as an affiliate member for men's and women's tennis in the 2014 spring season (2013–14 academic year).
• 2014 – California State University, Los Angeles and California State University, Stanislaus joined the PacWest as affiliate members for women's tennis in the 2014 spring season (2013–14 academic year).
• 2015 – Concordia University Irvine joined the PacWest in the 2015-16 academic year.
• 2017 – BYU–Hawaii left the PacWest as the school announced that it would discontinue its athletic program after the 2016–17 academic year.
• 2017 – Biola University joined the PacWest in the 2017–18 academic year.
• 2018 – Two institutions left the PacWest to join their respective new home primary conferences: Dixie State (now Utah Tech) to join the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), and Cal Baptist to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the WAC, both effective after the 2017–18 academic year.
• 2020 – Notre Dame de Namur left the PacWest as the school announced that it would discontinue its athletic program after the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2021 – Colorado Mesa University and the Metropolitan State University of Denver joined the PacWest as affiliate members for men's and women's tennis in the 2022 spring season (2021–22 academic year).
• 2023 – Westmont College joined the PacWest in the 2023–24 academic year. ^[11]
• 2023 – Holy Names left the PacWest as the school announced that it would close after the 2022–23 academic year.
• 2023 – Jessup University, Menlo College and Vanguard University will all join the PacWest, beginning in the 2024–25 academic year.

Member schools

Current members

The PacWest currently has 11 full members, all but one are private schools. Reclassifying members listed in yellow.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Colors
Academy of Art University	San Francisco, California	1929	For-profit	7,805	Urban Knights	2009
Azusa Pacific University	Azusa, California	1899	Evangelical	7,133	Cougars	2012
Biola University	La Mirada, California	1908	Evangelical	5,387	Eagles	2017
Chaminade University of Honolulu	Honolulu, Hawai'i	1955	Catholic	1,892	Silverswords	1992
Concordia University Irvine	Irvine, California	1976	Lutheran LCMS	3,744	Golden Eagles	2015
Dominican University of California	San Rafael, California	1890	Catholic	1,889	Penguins	2009
Fresno Pacific University	Fresno, California	1944	Mennonite	3,032	Sunbirds	2012
Hawai'i Pacific University	Honolulu, Hawai'i	1965	Nonsectarian	4,586	Sharks	1998
University of Hawai'i at Hilo	Hilo, Hawai'i	1947	Public	2,977	Vulcans	1992
Point Loma Nazarene University	San Diego, California	1902	Nazarene	4,319	Sea Lions	2012
Westmont College	Santa Barbara, California	1937	Christian	1,293	Warriors	2023

Future members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joining	Colors	Current conference
Jessup University	Rocklin, California	1939	Nondenominational	1,624	Warriors	2024		Golden State (GSAC) [lower-alpha 1]
Menlo College	Atherton, California	1927	Nonsectarian	745	Oaks
Vanguard University	Costa Mesa, California	1920	Assemblies of God	2,256	Lions

Notes

1. Currently an NAIA athletic conference.

Affiliate members

The PacWest currently has four affiliate members, all are public schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment (Fall 2018) [12]	Nickname	Joined	Colors	PacWest sport(s)	Primary conference
California State University, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California	1947	Public	27,685	Golden Eagles	2014		women's tennis	California (CCAA)
California State University, Stanislaus	Turlock, California	1957		10,214	Warriors
Colorado Mesa University	Grand Junction, Colorado	1925		8,907	Mavericks	2021		men's & women's tennis	Rocky Mountain (RMAC)
Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver)	Denver, Colorado	1965		17,678	Roadrunners

Former members

The PacWest had 19 former full members, all but seven were public schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
University of Alaska Anchorage	Anchorage, Alaska	1954	Public	16,242	Seawolves	1992	2001	Great Northwest (GNAC)
University of Alaska Fairbanks	Fairbanks, Alaska	1917	Public	9,380	Nanooks	1992	2001	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Brigham Young University–Hawai'i	Laie, Hawai'i	1955	LDS Church	3,176	Seasiders	1998	2017	N/A [lower-alpha 1]
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	1950	Baptist	11,491	Lancers	2011	2017	Western (WAC) [lower-alpha 2]
Central Washington University	Ellensburg, Washington	1891	Public	10,145	Wildcats	1998	2000	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Dixie State University [lower-alpha 3]	St. George, Utah	1911	Public	12,650	Trailblazers	2007	2018	Western (WAC) [lower-alpha 2]
Grand Canyon University	Phoenix, Arizona	1949	Christian (For-profit)	25,000	Antelopes	1992; 2005	1993; 2013	Western (WAC) [lower-alpha 2]
Holy Names University	Oakland, California	1868	Catholic	1,331	Hawks	2012	2023	N/A [lower-alpha 4]
Humboldt State University [lower-alpha 5]	Arcata, California	1913	Public	7,774	Lumberjacks	1998	2001	California (CCAA)
Montana State University Billings	Billings, Montana	1927	Public	4,600	Yellowjackets	1992	2005	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Northwest Nazarene University	Nampa, Idaho	1913	Nazarene	2,000	Crusaders	1999	2001	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Notre Dame de Namur University	Belmont, California	1851	Catholic	1,492	Argonauts	2005	2020	N/A [lower-alpha 6]
Portland State University [lower-alpha 7]	Portland, Oregon	1946	Public	27,285	Vikings	1992	1996	Big Sky [lower-alpha 2]
Saint Martin's University	Lacey, Washington	1895	Catholic	1,628	Saints	1998	2001	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Seattle Pacific University	Seattle, Washington	1891	Free Methodist	3,773	Falcons	1992	2001	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Simon Fraser University	Burnaby, British Columbia	1965	Public	35,604	Red Leafs [lower-alpha 8]	1998	1999	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Western New Mexico University	Silver City, New Mexico	1893	Public	3,820	Mustangs	1994	2005	Lone Star (LSC)
Western Oregon University	Monmouth, Oregon	1856	Public	6,233	Wolves	1998	2001	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Western Washington University	Bellingham, Washington	1893	Public	13,070	Vikings	1998	2001	Great Northwest (GNAC)

Notes

1. BYU–Hawaii dropped its athletics program after the 2016–17 school year.
2. Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
3. Now known as Utah Tech University.
4. Holy Names University closed following the 2022–23 school year, which discontinued its athletics program in the process.
5. Currently known as California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt since January 26, 2022.
6. Notre Dame de Namur dropped its athletics program after the 2019–20 school year.
7. Portland State joined the PacWest only for women's sports.
8. SFU's nickname during its PacWest tenure was Clan.

Former affiliate members

The PacWest had one former affiliate member, which was also a public school:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Colors	PacWest sport(s)	Current conference
Sonoma State University	Rohnert Park, California	1960	Public	9,201	Seawolves	2013	2021		men's tennis; women's tennis	California (CCAA)

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)  Full member (non-football)  Associate member (football-only)  Associate member (sport) 

National championships

Academy of Art

• Women's outdoor track & field (2013)

Azusa Pacific

• Women's outdoor track & field (2021, 2023)

BYU–Hawai'i

• Men's tennis (2002, 2003)
• Women's tennis (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007)
• Women's volleyball (1999, 2002)

Grand Canyon

• Men's soccer (1996)
• Men's indoor track & field (2012)

Hawai'i Pacific

• Women's volleyball (1998, 2000)
• Softball (2010)
• Men's tennis (2016)

Point Loma Nazarene

• Women's soccer (2023)

Sports

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Track & Field Outdoor	Total PWC Sports
Academy of Art	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	6
Azusa Pacific	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	6
Biola	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Chaminade	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			5
Concordia–Irvine	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	6
Dominican	N	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	5
Fresno Pacific	Y	Y	Y		Y		Y	5
Hawai'i Pacific	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		6
Hawai'i–Hilo	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y		5
Point Loma Nazarene	Y	Y			Y	Y		4
Westmont	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Totals	10	11	9	7	11	7+2	7	72+2
Future Members
Jessup	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Menlo	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		6
Vanguard	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	6
Affiliate Members
Colorado Mesa						Y		1
Metropolitan State						Y		1

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & Field Outdoor	Volleyball	Total PWC Sports
Academy of Art	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Azusa Pacific	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Biola	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Chaminade	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y		Y	6
Concordia–Irvine	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Dominican	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Fresno Pacific	Y	Y		Y			Y	Y	5
Hawai'i Pacific	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	7
Hawai'i–Hilo	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	7
Point Loma Nazarene	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	7
Westmont	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	7
Totals	11	11	7	11	8	10+4	8	11	78+4
Future Members
Jessup	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Menlo	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	6
Vanguard	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	7
Affiliate Members
Cal State Los Angeles						Y			1
Cal State Stanislaus						Y			1
Colorado Mesa						Y			1
Metropolitan State						Y			1

Other sponsored sports by school

Future members indicated in gray.

School		Men							Women
		Lacrosse	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field Indoor	Volleyball [lower-alpha 1]	Water Polo [lower-alpha 1]	Wrestling		Beach Volleyball [lower-alpha 1]	Lacrosse	Stunt [lower-alpha 2]	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field Indoor	Water Polo	Wrestling [lower-alpha 1]
Academy of Art				IND									IND
Azusa Pacific				IND								PCSC	IND	GCC
Biola			PCSC	IND								PCSC	IND
Chaminade									IND
Concordia Irvine		RMAC	PCSC	IND	MPSF	WWPA						PCSC	IND	GCC
Dominican		IND								IND
Fresno Pacific			PCSC			WWPA						PCSC		WWPA
Hawaii Pacific									IND
Jessup				TBA	MPSF [lower-alpha 3]						IND		TBA
Menlo					MPSF [lower-alpha 4]		TBA								IND
Vanguard				TBA	MPSF [lower-alpha 4]		TBA		TBA		IND		TBA		IND
Westmont				IND								PCSC	IND

1. De facto Division I sport. The NCAA men's volleyball championship is open to members of Divisions I and II, and the NCAA championships in beach volleyball and men's and women's water polo are open to members of all three NCAA divisions.
2. De facto Division I sport as part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.
3. Jessup joins MPSF men's volleyball in a later year.
4. Menlo and Vanguard join MPSF men's volleyball in 2024–25.

Conference facilities

Future members in gray.

Team	Basketball Arena	Capacity
Academy of Art	Kezar Pavilion	4,000
Azusa Pacific	Felix Events Center	3,500
Biola	Richard Chase Gymnasium	2,400
Chaminade	McCabe Gymnasium	2,800
Concordia Irvine	CU Arena	2,400
Dominican	Conlan Center	1,285
Fresno Pacific	Fresno Pacific University Special Events Center	1,500
Hawai'i Pacific	Shark Tank – St Francis School
Hawai'i–Hilo	Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium	3,800
Jessup	Warrior Arena	—
Menlo	Haynes–Prim Pavilion	600
Point Loma Nazarene	Golden Gym	1,600
Vanguard	Peterson Gymnasium [lower-alpha 1]	1,500
Westmont	Murchison Gymnasium	1,179

1. At Orange Coast College.

References

1. Staff (June 2, 2011). "PacWest conference expands to 14 schools". Honolulu Star-Advertiser . Retrieved June 2, 2011.
2. "About the GNAC". Great Northwest Athletic Conference . Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
3. "PacWest adds Dominican University of California as 9th conference program". Pacific West Conference. June 12, 2009. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
4. "PWC Adds Baseball". Pacific West Conference. 2008. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008.
5. Broughton, Bob (January 3, 2011). "Five Southern California schools headed for Division II". Courtesy Runner. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
6. "HNU enters NCAA II member process". July 13, 2012. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
7. "Grand Canyon University to Join WAC" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. November 27, 2012. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
8. "CBU Announces D1, WAC Move". California Baptist University. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
9. "NDNU Athletics Will Not Continue Past Spring 2020". ndnuargos.com. March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
10. "PacWest History: The Megaconference Era". Pacific West Conference. July 28, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
11. "Westmont Begins NCAA Division II Membership Process". Westmont Warriors. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
12. As of July 6, 2019. "Term Enrollment summary".

External links

• Official website