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The Big West Conference (BWC) is an NCAA-affiliated Division I major college athletic conference that formerly sponsored Division I-A American football. Due to its past successes in the NCAA's men's college basketball tournament, the Big West is often considered to be a Mid Major conference.
Background
The history of the conference is linked to that of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), which was founded in 1969 and renamed the Big West Conference in 1988. The Big West Conference dropped sponsorship of football at the end of the 2000-2001 season, but continues to actively sponsor other sports.
Beginning in fall of 2001, six of the seven remaining football-playing members parted company with the BWC: Arkansas State, Idaho, New Mexico State, and North Texas joined the Sun Belt Conference; Boise State joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC); and Utah State became an independent before joining the Sun Belt Conference in fall 2003. Idaho and Utah State retained Big West membership in sports other than football until both officially left for the WAC on July 1, 2005. The departure of Idaho and Utah State leaves the Big West a California-only conference; of these schools, five are in Greater Los Angeles, two others are just to the north or west of that area, and only Pacific is outside of Southern California. This will change once UC Davis, in the Sacramento area, becomes a full member. As such, the Big West basically returns to its roots, as the PCAA had been a California-only conference until they admitted Utah State in 1978.
The seventh football-playing member, Cal Poly, stayed in the Big West for other sports and became a Division I-AA independent before joining the new Great West Football Conference in 2004.
Charter (original) members
- California State University, Fullerton - from 1988 to 1992
- California State University, Fresno - from 1988 to 1991
- Long Beach State University - from 1988 to 1999
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) - from 1988 to 1996
- New Mexico State University - from 1988 to 2000
- University of the Pacific - from 1988 to 1996
- San José State University - from 1988 to 1996
- Utah State University - from 1988 to 2005
Current members (and years joined)
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Year Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Polytechnic State University | San Luis Obispo, California | 1901 | Public | 17,683 | 1996 |
| California State University, Fullerton | Fullerton, California | 1957 | Public | 35,040 | 1974 |
| California State University, Northridge | Northridge, California | 1958 | Public | 33,000 | 2001 |
| Long Beach State University | Long Beach, California | 1949 | Public | 39,863 | 1969 |
| University of the Pacific | Stockton, California | 1851 | Private/Non-sectarian | 6,268 | 1971 |
| University of California, Irvine | Irvine, California | 1965 | Public | 24,362 | 1977 |
| University of California, Riverside | Riverside, California | 1907 | Public | 16,622 | 2001 |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, California | 1944 | Public | 20,559 | 1976 |
Traveling Partners
- UC Irvine and Long Beach State. This is a rivalry.
- UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. This is also a rivalry.
- UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton. This is also a rivalry.
- Pacific and Cal State Northridge.
Current Members
Former members
- Arkansas State University - from 1993 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2001 (football only)
- Boise State University - from 1996 to 2001
- University of Idaho - from 1996 to 2005
- Louisiana Tech University - from 1993 to 1996 (football only)
- University of Nevada - from 1996 to 1999
- University of North Texas - from 1996 to 2000
- Northern Illinois University - from 1993 to 1996 (football only)
- University of Southwestern Louisiana - from 1993 to 1996 (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) (football only)
- Utah State University - from 1988 to 2005
Future members
- UC Davis - beginning in fall of 2007.
Current conference affiliations (for football) of former members
- Mid-American Conference (1) - Northern Illinois
- Mountain West Conference (1) - UNLV
- Sun Belt Conference (3) - Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, and North Texas
- Western Athletic Conference (8) - Boise State, Fresno State, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Nevada, San Jose State, and Utah State
Sports
As of fall 2002, the BWC sponsors intercollegiate competition in men’s baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, and women’s volleyball.
Champions
| Men's Basketball Champions | ||
| Season | Regular Season Champion | Tournament Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Long Beach State (10-0) | N/A |
| 1971 | Long Beach State (10-0) | N/A |
| 1972 | Long Beach State (10-2) | N/A |
| 1973 | Long Beach State (10-2) | N/A |
| 1974 | Long Beach State (12-0) | N/A |
| 1975 | Long Beach State (8-2) | N/A |
| 1976 | Cal State Fullerton (6-4) | San Diego State |
| 1977 | Long Beach State (9-3) | Long Beach State |
| 1978 | Fresno State (11-3) | Cal State Fullerton |
| 1979 | Pacific (11-3) | Pacific |
| 1980 | Utah State (11-2) | San Jose State |
| 1981 | Fresno State (12-2) | Fresno State |
| 1982 | Fresno State(12-2) | Fresno State |
| 1983 | UNLV (15-1) | UNLV |
| 1984 | UNLV (16-2) | Fresno State |
| 1985 | UNLV (17-1) | UNLV |
| 1986 | UNLV (16-2) | UNLV |
| 1987 | UNLV (18-0) | UNLV |
| 1988 | UNLV (15-3) | Utah State |
| 1989 | UNLV (16-2) | UNLV |
| 1990 | UNLV (16-2) | UNLV |
| 1991 | UNLV (18-0) | UNLV |
| 1992 | UNLV (18-0) | New Mexico State |
| 1993 | New Mexico State (15-3) | Long Beach State |
| 1994 | New Mexico State (12-6) | New Mexico State |
| 1995 | Utah State (14-4) | Long Beach State |
| 1996 | Long Beach State (12-6) | San Jose State |
| 1997 | Pacific (13-3) | Pacific |
| 1998 | Pacific (14-2) | Utah State |
| 1999 | Boise State/UCSB (12-4) | New Mexico State |
| 2000 | Utah State (16-0) | Utah State |
| 2001 | UC-Irvine (15-1) | Utah State |
| 2002 | Utah State/UC-Irvine (13-5) | UCSB |
| 2003 | UCSB (14-4) | Utah State |
| 2004 | Utah State/Pacific (17-1) | Pacific |
| 2005 | Pacific (18-0) | Utah State |
| 2006 | Pacific (14-0) | Pacific |
| Football Champions | |
| Year | University |
|---|---|
| 1969 | San Diego State |
| 1970 | Long Beach State & San Diego State |
| 1971 | Long Beach State |
| 1972 | San Diego State |
| 1973 | San Diego State |
| 1974 | San Diego State |
| 1975 | San Jose State |
| 1976 | San Jose State |
| 1977 | Fresno State |
| 1978 | San Jose State and Utah State |
| 1979 | Utah State |
| 1980 | Long Beach State |
| 1981 | San Jose State |
| 1982 | Fresno State |
| 1983 | Cal State Fullerton |
| 1984 | Cal State Fullerton |
| 1985 | Fresno State |
| 1986 | San Jose State |
| 1987 | San Jose State |
| 1988 | Fresno State |
| 1989 | Fresno State |
| 1990 | San Jose State |
| 1991 | Fresno State and San Jose State |
| 1992 | Nevada |
| 1993 | Louisiana at Lafayette and Utah State |
| 1994 | Louisiana at Lafayette, Nevada, and Nevada at Las Vegas |
| 1995 | Nevada |
| 1996 | Nevada and Utah State |
| 1997 | Nevada and Utah State |
| 1998 | Idaho |
| 1999 | Boise State |
| 2000 | Boise State |
Conference Arenas
Only Cal Poly has a football program. Their football stadium is called Mustang Stadium, capacity of 8,500.
| School | Basketball Arena | Arena capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly | Mott Gym | 3,032 |
| Cal State Fullerton | Titan Gym | 3,500 |
| Cal State Northridge | Matadome | 1,600 |
| Long Beach State | Walter Pyramid | 5,021 |
| Pacific | Alex G. Spanos Center | 6,150 |
| UC Irvine | Bren Events Center | 4,984 |
| UC Riverside | UC Riverside Student Recreation Center | 3,168 |
| UC Santa Barbara | Thunderdome | 6,000 |
External link
"Big West Conference"