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

The WCC currently has 10 members, all located in West Coast states. Gonzaga will leave in 2026 for the Pac-12 Conference.

School Location Founded Type Nickname Joined
WCC
Gonzaga University Spokane, Washington 1881 Private
Jesuit		 Bulldogs 1979
Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, California 1870 Private
Jesuit/Marymount/St. Joseph		 Lions 1955
University of the Pacific Stockton, California 1851 Private
(Methodist)[a]		 Tigers 1952, 2013[b]
Pepperdine University Malibu, California[c] 1937 Private
Churches of Christ		 Waves 1955
University of Portland Portland, Oregon 1901 Private
Congregation of Holy Cross		 Pilots 1976
Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, California 1863 Private
De La Salle Brothers		 Gaels 1952
University of San Diego San Diego, California 1949 Private
Diocesan Catholic		 Toreros 1979
University of San Francisco San Francisco, California 1855 Private
Jesuit		 Dons 1952
Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California 1851 Private
Jesuit		 Broncos 1952
Seattle University Seattle, Washington 1891 Private
Jesuit		 Redhawks 1971, 2025[d]
  1. ↑ Pacific remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church, but has received no financial support from the church since 1969.
  2. ↑ Pacific left the conference in 1971 and came back in 2013.
  3. ↑ Pepperdine's campus has a Malibu mailing address, but is outside the city limits in unincorporated Los Angeles County.
  4. ↑ Seattle had been a WCC member from 1971 to 1980.

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.

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 Men's water polo Mountain West Falcons
Augusta University Augusta, Georgia 1828 Public 2025 Men's and women's golf Peach Belt
(NCAA Division II)		 Jaguars
California Baptist University Riverside, California 1950 Private
(Baptist)		 2023 Men's water polo WAC
(Big West in 2026)		 Lancers
Creighton University Omaha, Nebraska 1878 Private
Jesuit		 2010 Women'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 Women's rowing Big Sky
(Big West in 2026)		 Hornets
San Jose State University San Jose, California 1857 Public
(CSU)		 2023 Men's water polo Mountain West Spartans
Washington State University Pullman, Washington 1880 Public 2024 Multiple Pac-12 Cougars

References

  • "West Coast Conference". wccsports.com. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
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