The Pacific West Conference (also known as the PacWest) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. The conference sponsors the following sports:

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

and track & field outdoor for both men and women;

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

for men only;

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

for women only. The newest PacWest sports are men's tennis and women's golf, both added in 2012–13.

History

Formation

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. 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 The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but ...

. With the departure of the final two mainland members, Montana State University–Billings and

Western New Mexico University Western New Mexico University is a public university in Silver City, New Mexico. It was founded in 1893. History Founded in the Territory of New Mexico on February 11, 1893 as the New Mexico Normal School, the school began to offer classes o ...

, to join the

Heartland Conference The Heartland Conference was a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level, which was founded in 1999. The majority of members were in Texas, with additional members in ...

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 seaso
1
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 Dominican University of California is a private university in San Rafael, California. It was founded in 1890 as Dominican College by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael. It is one of the oldest universities in California. Dominican is accred ...

would join the conference in the 2009–10 season as the conference's 9th member. 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.

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 The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Mike Daniels. Conference leadership is shared among the memb ...

(GSAC) to join the conference beginning with the 2011–12 school year. On June 1, 2011, the conference announced the additions of

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...

, Fresno Pacific University and

Point Loma Nazarene University Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college with its main campus on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazaren ...

, all members of the GSAC, 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. As part of the transition process from NAIA to NCAA Holy Names remained ineligible for NCAA postseason play through 2015–16. 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 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, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to most of t ...

. In July 2016, it was announced that

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's ...

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 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 athleti ...

. On March 23, 2020, Notre Dame de Namur announced the cessation of all its athletics after the 2019–20 school year.

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 Chaminade University of Honolulu is a private Marianist university in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1955 by the Society of Mary, Chaminade is located in Kaimuki, Honolulu at the base of St. Louis Heights. Chaminade offers bachelor's degrees i ...

, Grand Canyon University, the

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) is a public university in Hilo, Hawaii. It is one of ten general campuses of the University of Hawaii system. It was founded as Hilo Center at Lyman Hall of the Hilo Boys School in 1945 and was a bran ...

, Montana State University at Billings,

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two dec ...

(only for women's sports) and Seattle Pacific University, effective beginning the 1992-93 academic year. * 1994 - Grand Canyon left the PacWest to join the

California Collegiate Athletic Association The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its current members are public universities, and upon U ...

(CCAA), effective after the 1993-94 academic year. * 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

(NCAA) and the Big Sky Conference, effective after the 1995-96 academic year. * 1998 - Brigham Young University–Hawai'i, Central Washington University, Hawai'i Pacific University,

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universit ...

, Saint Martin's University,

Western Oregon University Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oregon College of ...

and Western Washington University joined the PacWest, effective in the 1998-99 academic year. * 1999 - Northwest Nazarene University and

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate pro ...

joined the PacWest, effective in the 1999-2000 academic year. * 2001 - Alaska–Anchorage, Alaska–Fairbanks, Central Washington, Humboldt State, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin's, Seattle, Seattle Pacific, Western Oregon and Western Washington left the PacWest to form the

(GNAC), effective after the 2000-01 academic year. * 2005 - Montana State–Billings and Western New Mexico left the PacWest to join the

, effective 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), effective in the 2005-06 academic year. * 2007 - Dixie State University joined the PacWest, effective in the 2007-08 academic year. * 2009 - Academy of Art University and

joined the PacWest, effective in the 2009-10 academic year. * 2011 - California Baptist University (Cal Baptist) joined the PacWest, effective in the 2011-12 academic year. * 2012 -

, Fresno Pacific University, Holy Names University and

joined the PacWest, effective in the 2012-13 academic year. * 2013 - Grand Canyon left the PacWest to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the

(WAC), effective after the 2012-13 academic year. * 2013 -

Sonoma State University Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, US. It is one of the smallest members of the California State University (CSU) system. Sonoma State offers 92 Bachelor's ...

joined the PacWest as an affiliate member for men's and women's tennis, effective in the 2014 spring season (2013-14 academic year). * 2014 -

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

and California State University, Stanislaus joined the PacWest as affiliate members for women's tennis, effective in the 2014 spring season (2013-14 academic year). * 2015 -

Concordia University Irvine Concordia University Irvine is a private Lutheran university in Irvine, California, United States. It was established in 1976 to provide a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod college to serve the Pacific Southwest and provide training for pastors, ...

joined the PacWest, effective in the 2015-16 academic year. * 2017 - BYU–Hawaii left the PacWest as the school announced that it would discontinue its athletic program, effective after the 2016-17 academic year. * 2017 -

joined the PacWest, effective in the 2017-18 academic year. * 2018 - Two institutions left the PacWest to join their respective new home primary conferences: Dixie State 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, effective after the 2019-20 academic year. * 2022 - Westmont College joined the PacWest, effective in the 2023-24 academic year. * 2022 - Holy Names announced it would discontinue its athletic program following the 2022-23 season, making it their last in the PacWest.

Member schools

Current members

The PacWest currently has 11 full members, all but one are

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

schools: * Holy Names will drop their entire athletic department following the 2022-23 athletics season.
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Future members

Affiliate members

The PacWest currently has two affiliate members, both are Public university, public schools:

Former members

The PacWest had 18 former full members, all but seven were Public university, public schools: ;Notes:

Former affiliate members

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

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1992 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:20 top:5 Colors = id:line value:black id:Full value:rgb(0.63,0.88,0.755) # all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.88,0.755,0.63) # non-football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.88,0.63,0.63) # football-only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.755,0.755,0.63) # associate PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2001 text: Alaska–Anchorage (1992–2001) bar:2 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2001 text: Alaska–Fairbanks (1992–2001) bar:3 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text: Chaminade (1992–present) bar:4 color:FullxF from:1992 till:1994 text:

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

(1992–1994) bar:4 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2013 text:(2005–2013) bar:5 color:FullxF from:1992 till:end text: Hawai'i–Hilo (1992–present) bar:6 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2005 text: Montana State–Billings (1992–2005) bar:7 color:FullxF from:1992 till:1996 text: Portland State (1992–96) bar:8 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2001 text: Seattle Pacific (1992–2001) bar:9 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2017 text: BYU–Hawai'i (1998–2017) bar:10 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2001 text: Central Washington (1998–2001) bar:11 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text: Hawai'i Pacific (1998–present) bar:12 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2001 text: Humboldt State (1998–2001) bar:13 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2001 text: Saint Martin's (1998–2001) bar:14 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2001 text: Western Oregon (1998–2001) bar:15 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2005 text: Western New Mexico (1998–2005) bar:16 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2001 text: Western Washington (1998–2001) bar:17 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2001 text: Northwest Nazarene (1999–2001) bar:18 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2001 text:

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

(1999–2001) bar:19 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2020 text: Notre Dame de Namur (2006–2020) bar:20 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2018 text: Dixie State (2007–2018) bar:21 color:FullxF from:2009 till:end text:

Academy of Art The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

(2009–present) bar:22 color:FullxF from:2009 till:end text: Dominican (Cal.) (2009–present) bar:23 color:FullxF from:2011 till:2018 text: California Baptist (2011–2018) bar:24 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text:

Azusa Pacific Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The univ ...

(2012–present) bar:25 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text: Fresno Pacific (2012–present) bar:26 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2023 text: Holy Names (2012–2023) bar:27 color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text:

Point Loma Nazarene Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college with its main campus on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazaren ...

(2012–present) bar:28 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:2022 text:

Sonoma State Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, US. It is one of the smallest members of the California State University (CSU) system. Sonoma State offers 92 Bachelor's ...

(2013–2022) bar:29 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:end text: Cal State–Los Angeles (2014–present) bar:30 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:end text: Cal State–Stanislaus (2014–present) bar:31 color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text: Concordia–Irvine (2015–present) bar:32 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text: Biola (2017–present) bar:33 shift:(-60) color:FullxF from:2023 till:end text: Westmont (2023–future) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1993

National championships

Azusa Pacific * Women's Outdoor Track & Field (2021) 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) Academy of Art * Women's Outdoor Track & Field (2013)

History

Formation

New PacWest Conference

Recent expansion and contraction

Chronological timeline

Member schools

Current members

Future members

Affiliate members

Former members

Former affiliate members

Membership timeline

National championships

Sports

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Other sponsored sports by school

Conference facilities

References

External links