The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington.
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I level, primarily in Olympic sports that are not directly sponsored by a school's home conference.
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.
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate and nicer facilities and a few more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.
The Pacific West Conference 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.
California Baptist University is a private Baptist Christian university in Riverside, California. Founded in 1950 as California Baptist College, it is affiliated with the California Southern Baptist Convention, an organization affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. CBU is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission.
Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics, are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level. Long Beach State is a founding member of the Big West Conference, and also competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Golden Coast Conference for sports not sponsored by the Big West.
The Mercyhurst Lakers, representing Mercyhurst University which is located in Erie, Pennsylvania, are composed of 24 teams in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, tennis, and water polo. Men's sports include baseball, football, and wrestling. Women's sports include bowling, field hockey, softball, stunt, and volleyball. The Lakers compete in the NCAA Division II and are members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) for all sports except ice hockey, which competes in NCAA Division I; bowling, a sport in which the NCAA holds a single all-divisions national championship, which competes in the East Coast Conference; men's lacrosse and stunt, both of which compete in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference; and water polo, a sport in which the NCAA holds single all-divisions national championships for men and women. The men's ice hockey team is a member of Atlantic Hockey, while the women's ice hockey team is a member of College Hockey America. The men's and women's water polo teams play in the Western Water Polo Association. On April 4, 2024, it was announced that Mercyhurst would be transitioning to NCAA Division I and join the Northeast Conference starting in the 2024-25 academic school year.
The Cal State East Bay Pioneers are the athletic teams that represent California State University, East Bay, located in Hayward, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for most of their sports since the 2009–10 academic year; while its women's water polo teams compete in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The Pioneers previously competed in the California Pacific Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2008–09.
The Cal State Monterey Bay Otters are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Monterey Bay, located in Monterey County, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for most of its sports since the 2004–05 academic year; while its women's water polo teams compete in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The Otters previously competed in the California Pacific Conference (CalPac) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1996–97 to 2003–04.
The Concordia Golden Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Concordia University Irvine, located in Irvine, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Golden Eagles primarily compete in the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) for most of their sports since the 2015–16 academic year; while its men's volleyball team competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF); and its men's water polo team competes in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). CUI previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1987–88 to 2014–15; and as an NAIA Independent from 1981–82 to 1986–87. The CUI women's water polo team competed in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) until the 2022 spring season.
The California Baptist Lancers baseball team represents California Baptist University, which is located in Riverside, California. The Lancers are an NCAA Division I college baseball program that competes in the Western Athletic Conference. They began competing in Division I in 2019 and joined the Western Athletic Conference the same season.
The California Baptist Lancers men's basketball team represents California Baptist University in the Western Athletic Conference. The team made the jump into Division I basketball on July 1, 2018. They are currently led by head coach Rick Croy and play at the Fowler Events Center, which opened in 2017 and replaced the Van Dyne Gym. The men's basketball program was ineligible to play in the NCAA Division I Tournament during their transition period, although they were eligible for other tournaments such as the College Basketball Invitational. The 2022-23 season was the 1st season the Lancers were eligible for the NCAA tournament.
The California Baptist Lancers women's basketball team is a basketball team that represents California Baptist University in Riverside, California, United States. The California Baptist Lancers compete as members of the Division I Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They are currently led by head coach Jarrod Olson and play at the Fowler Events Center.
The 2019–20 California Baptist Lancers men's basketball team represented California Baptist University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lancers, led by seventh-year head coach Rick Croy, played their home games at the CBU Events Center in Riverside, California as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 21–10, 10–6 in WAC play to finish in second place.
The 2021 WAC men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Western Athletic Conference during the 2020–21 season. All tournament games were played at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, from March 11–13, 2021. The tournament champion received the WAC's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament.
The 2021–22 California Baptist Lancers men's basketball team represented California Baptist University (CBU) in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lancers, led by ninth-year head coach Rick Croy, played their home games at the CBU Events Center in Riverside, California as members of the Western Athletic Conference.
The 2022–23 California Baptist Lancers men's basketball team represented California Baptist University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lancers, led by tenth-year head coach Rick Croy, played their home games at the CBU Events Center in Riverside, California as members of the Western Athletic Conference. This was the Lancers' first year as a full DI member, now making them eligible to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
