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 
 Current 
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  JoinedWCC  Gonzaga University Spokane, Washington  1881  PrivateJesuit  Bulldogs  1979 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, California  1870  PrivateJesuit/Marymount/St. Joseph Lions  1955   Stockton, California  1851  Private(Methodist)   Tigers  1952, 2013 Pepperdine University  Malibu, California  1937  PrivateChurches of Christ  Waves  1955   Portland, Oregon  1901  PrivateCongregation of Holy Cross Pilots  1976 Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, California 1863  PrivateDe La Salle Brothers Gaels  1952   San Diego, California  1949  PrivateDiocesan Catholic Toreros  1979   San Francisco, California  1855  PrivateJesuit  Dons  1952 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California  1851  PrivateJesuit  Broncos  1952 Seattle University  Seattle, Washington  1891  PrivateJesuit  Redhawks  1971, 2025

 Future 
Two schools will join the WCC in the near future, one in 2026 and the other in 2027.
 School  Location  Founded  Type  Nickname  JoiningWCC    Denver, Colorado  1864  PrivateNonsectarian  Pioneers  2026  (UC San Diego)  La Jolla, California  1960  PublicUniversity of California  Tritons  2027

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  (Air Force)  USAF Academy, Colorado  1954  Federal  2023    Mountain West  Falcons Augusta University  Augusta, Georgia  1828  Public  2025    Peach Belt  Jaguars California Baptist University  Riverside, California  1950  Private(Baptist)  2023    WAC  Lancers Creighton University  Omaha, Nebraska  1878  PrivateJesuit  2010    Big East  Bluejays Oregon State University  Corvallis, Oregon  1868  Public  2024  Multiple  Pac-12  Beavers  (Sacramento State)  Sacramento, California  1947  Public  2024    Big Sky  Hornets San Jose State University  San Jose, California  1857  Public(CSU)  2023    Mountain West  Spartans Washington State University  Pullman, Washington  1880  Public  2024  Multiple  Pac-12  Cougars

References


Category:College athletics conferences
Category:1952 establishments in the United States