The California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) is a

college athletic conference In college athletics in the United States, institutions typically join in Athletic conference, conferences for regular play under different governing bodies. Varsity sports There are several national and regional associations governing the var ...

affiliated with the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA). The conference

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

is Don Ott. Conference leadership is shared among the member institutions. The secretary is Marv Christopher of

California Maritime Academy The California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime or CSU Maritime Academy) is a public university in Vallejo, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system and the only maritime academy on the co ...

. The conference was formed in 1996. Conference members range from members of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

and

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

systems to

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

and

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

History

California State University at East Bay, California State University at Monterey Bay, Dominican University,

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

, and

Notre Dame de Namur University Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) is a private Catholic university in Belmont, California, United States. It is the third oldest college in California and the first college in the state authorized to grant the baccalaureate degree to wome ...

are former members of the conference that have left the Cal Pac and the NAIA for the Division II and

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

ranks of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). * Cal State–Monterey Bay and Cal State–East Bay left the Cal Pac to join the NCAA Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) in the 2004–05 and 2008–09 seasons, respectively. * Patten University left the Cal Pac when the school chose to discontinue its athletic program after the 2004–05 season. * Notre Dame de Namur left the Cal Pac to join the NCAA Division II Pacific West Conference in the 2006–07 season, followed by Dominican in the 2008–09 season. * Mills moved to NCAA Division III as an Independent in the 2011–12 season. In June 2011, Bethany University announced it was ceasing operations effective immediately, decreasing the Cal Pac to seven active members. In 2012,

Holy Names University Holy Names University (HNU) was a private Catholic university in Oakland, California, United States. It was founded in 1868 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. It remained affiliated with the order until it closed in 2023 due ...

left the Cal Pac to join the Pacific West Conference; while Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University at Prescott, Marymount California University, and

Soka University of America Soka University of America (SUA) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Aliso Viejo, California. Originally founded in 1987, it was established on its current campus in 2001 by Daisaku ...

joined to increase the conference membership to nine schools.

La Sierra University La Sierra University (La Sierra or LSU) is a Private university, private, Seventh-day Adventist university in Riverside, California. Founded in 1922 as La Sierra Academy, it later became La Sierra College, a liberal arts college, and then was ...

joined in 2013 to bring the conference up to 10 members. William Jessup University left in 2014, leaving the conference with nine members. Membership rose to twelve schools in 2015 when the University of Antelope Valley, Benedictine University at Mesa,

Providence Christian College Providence Christian College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Pasadena, California, United States. Founded in 2002, it is an independent, confessionally Reformed college with no formal denominational ties. The college offers one de ...

, and Sierra Nevada University joined; while

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and located in Atherton, California, United States. Campus Menlo College is situated on a 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco an ...

left for the

Golden State Athletic Conference The Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC), formerly known as the Golden State Athletic Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is M ...

. The University of Saint Katherine joined in 2019. In March 2020, the conference announced two additions for the 2020–21 academic year when Park University at Gilbert and

Westcliff University Westcliff University (WU) is a private, for-profit university in Irvine, California. Founded in 1993, it offers bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees, as well as certificate programs and continuing education courses. History Westcliff ...

were admitted to the NAIA. Sierra Nevada approved in July 2021 an agreement to merge with

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division 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 athlet ...

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

(Nevada). The merger was given accreditation approval in late December and scheduled for completion before 2022–23, leading to Sierra Nevada's departure from Cal Pac. On September 20, 2024, Cal Maritime announced it would withdraw from NAIA and Cal Pac membership at the conclusion of the 2024–25 academic year. On December 20, 2024, Northern New Mexico College and Stanton University had accepted an invite as full members to join the Cal Pac, with the latter contingent on NAIA approval for membership, while

Walla Walla University Walla Walla University is a private Adventist university in College Place, Washington. The university has five campuses throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was founded in 1892 and is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The ...

accepted an invite as an affiliate member for men's volleyball; all effective beginning the 2025–26 academic year.

Chronological timeline

* 1995 – The California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) was founded. Charter members included Bethany College (later Bethany University),

(now California State University Maritime Academy, or CSU Maritime), California State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB), Dominican College (now the Dominican University of California), Holy Names College (now Holy Names University),

Pacific Union College Pacific Union College (PUC) is a private university, private Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Angwin, California. It is the only four-year college in Napa Cou ...

, Patten College (now Patten University), and

Simpson College Simpson College is a Private college, private United Methodist Church, Methodist college in Indianola, Iowa. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and enrolled 1,151 students in ...

(now Simpson University); beginning the 1996–97 academic year. * 1998 – California State University at Hayward (now California State University East Bay, or CSUEB) and the College of Notre Dame (later Notre Dame de Namur University) joined the Cal Pac in the 1998–99 academic year. * 1999 –

joined the Cal Pac in the 1999–2000 academic year. * 2004 ** Cal State–Monterey Bay (CSUMB) left the Cal Pac to join the Division II ranks of the

(NCAA) and the

California Collegiate Athletic Association The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. All of its current m ...

(CCAA) after the 2003–04 academic year. ** William Jessup University (now Jessup University) joined the Cal Pac in the 2004–05 academic year. * 2005 – Patten left the Cal Pac to become an NAIA Independent after the 2004–05 academic year. * 2006 – Notre Dame de Namur left the Cal Pac to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the

Pacific West Conference 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. T ...

(PacWest) after the 2005–06 academic year. * 2009 – Two institutions left the Cal Pac and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and to their respective new home primary conferences: Cal State–East Bay (CSUEB) to the CCAA, and Dominican (Cal.) to the PacWest after the 2008–09 academic year. * 2011 – The University of California at Merced joined the Cal Pac in the 2011–12 academic year. * 2012 ** Holy Names left the Cal Pac and the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the PacWest after the 2011–12 academic year. ** Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University–Prescott, Marymount California University, and

joined the Cal Pac in the 2012–13 academic year. * 2013 –

joined the Cal Pac in the 2013–14 academic year. * 2014 – William Jessup left the Cal Pac to join the

(GSAC; now the Great Southwest Athletic Conference) after the 2013–14 academic year. * 2015 ** Menlo left the Cal Pac to join the GSAC after the 2014–15 academic year. ** The University of Antelope Valley, Benedictine University at Mesa,

, and

Sierra Nevada College Sierra Nevada University (SNU) was a private university in Incline Village, Nevada, in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierras. It was governed by a seven-member board of trustees who were locally elected. In 2022, it was announced that the school w ...

(later Sierra Nevada University) joined the Cal Pac in the 2015–16 academic year. * 2019 – The University of Saint Katherine joined the Cal Pac in the 2019–20 academic year. * 2020 – Park University Gilbert and

joined the Cal Pac in the 2020–21 academic year. * 2021 – Sierra Nevada left the Cal Pac at the end of the 2021–22 academic year as the school announced plans to merge with the

, dropping all athletic programs in the process. * 2022 – Marymount California left the Cal Pac after the 2021–22 academic year as the school announced its closure in August of that year. * 2024 ** Antelope Valley left the Cal Pac during the 2023–24 academic year as the school suddenly closed after an order from the state of California to cease operations. ** St. Katherine left the Cal Pac during the 2023–24 academic year ahead of its planned departure to the GSAC, as the university announced it would cease all operations at the end of the academic year. ** Benedictine at Mesa, Embry-Riddle Prescott, and Park–Gilbert all left the Cal Pac to join the GSAC, beginning the 2024–25 academic year. * 2025 ** La Sierra and Soka will leave the Cal Pac to join the GSAC, beginning the 2025–26 academic year. ** UC Merced will leave the Cal Pac and the NAIA to join the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

ranks and the CCAA, beginning the 2025–26 academic year. ** Cal Maritime will leave the Cal Pac and the NAIA via withdrawal at the conclusion of the 2024–25 academic year, coinciding with the school's integration into

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

. ** Providence Christian will leave the Cal Pac as the school announced it would discontinue its athletics programs, beginning after the 2024–25 academic year. ** Northern New Mexico College and Stanton University will join the Cal Pac beginning the 2025–26 academic year. **

will join the Cal Pac as an affiliate member for men's volleyball beginning the 2026 spring season (2025–26 academic year).

Member schools

Current members

The Cal Pac currently has 8 full members, all but two 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 recorded ...

schools: ;Notes:

Future members

;Notes:

Future affiliate members

;Notes:

Former members

The Cal Pac had 13 former full members, all but two were

schools: ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1996 till:2028 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2011 text:

Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

of Lazarus (name), L ...

(1996–2011) bar:2 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2025 text: Cal State–Maritime (California Maritime) (1996–2025) bar:3 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2004 text: Cal State Monterey Bay (1996–2004) bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2004 till:end text: CCAA bar:4 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2009 text: Dominican (Cal.) (1996–2009) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2009 till:end text: PacWest bar:5 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2012 text: Holy Names (1996–2012) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2023 text: PacWest bar:6 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2015 text: Menlo (1996–2015) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:2024 text: GSAC bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2024 till:end text: PacWest bar:7 color:FullxF from:1996 till:end text: Pacific Union (1996–present) bar:8 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2005 text: Patten (1996–2005) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2012 text: NAIA Ind. bar:9 color:FullxF from:1996 till:end text:

Simpson Simpson may refer to: * Simpson (name), a British surname Organizations Schools *Simpson College, in Indianola, Iowa *Simpson University, in Redding, California Businesses *Simpson (appliance manufacturer), former manufacturer and brand of w ...

(1996–present) bar:10 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2009 text: Cal State–East Bay (1998–2009) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2009 till:end text: CCAA bar:11 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2006 text: Notre Dame de Namur (1998–2006) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2020 text: PacWest bar:12 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2011 text:

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places U ...

(1999–2011) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2013 text: D-III Ind. bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2016 text: GSAC bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2016 till:2017 text: D-III Ind. bar:12 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:2017 till:2020 text: ACAA bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2023 text:

C2C Trenitalia c2c, trading as c2c, is a British train operating company that operates commuter services from its London terminus at to parts of East London and south Essex along the London, Tilbury and Southend line, as part of the Essex Thame ...

bar:13 color:FullxF from:2004 till:2014 text: William Jessup (2004–2014) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:2024 text: GSAC bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2024 till:end text: PacWest bar:14 color:FullxF from:2011 till:2025 text:

UC Merced The University of California, Merced (UC Merced or colloquially, UCM) is a public land-grant research university in Merced, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California (UC) system. Established in 20 ...

(2011–2025) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text: CCAA bar:15 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2024 text: Embry–Riddle at Prescott (2012–2024) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text: GSAC bar:16 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2022 text: Marymount (2012–2022) bar:17 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2025 text: Soka (2012–2025) bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text: GSAC bar:18 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2025 text: La Sierra (2013–2025) bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text: GSAC bar:19 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2024 text:

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is a valley primarily located in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, Kern County, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated ...

(2015–2024) bar:20 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2024 text: Benedictine–Mesa (2015–2024) bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text: GSAC bar:21 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2025 text: Providence Christian (2015–2025) bar:22 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2022 text:

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

(2015–2022) bar:23 color:FullxF from:2019 till:2024 text: Saint Katherine (2019–2024) bar:24 color:FullxF from:2020 till:2024 text: Park–Gilbert (2020–2024) bar:24 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text: GSAC bar:25 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:

Westcliff Westcliff-on-Sea (previously known as Milton, often abbreviated to Westcliff, and in the past spelt as Westcliffe-on-Sea) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, located within the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north sh ...

(2020–present) bar:26 shift:-80 color:FullxF from:2025 till:end text:

Northern New Mexico Northern New Mexico in cultural terms usually refers to the area of heavy-Spanish settlement in the north-central part of New Mexico. However, New Mexico state government also uses the term to mean the northwest and north central, but to exclude ...

(2025–future) bar:27 shift:-20 color:FullxF from:2025 till:end text: Stanton (2025–future) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1996 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,25) tabs:(400-center) text:^"California Pacific Conference membership history"

Sports sponsored

References

External links

* {{NAIA conference navbox College sports in California 1996 establishments in California Organizations based in Oakland, California Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area