West Coast Conference facts for kids

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West Coast Conference
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Formerly	West Coast Athletic Conference (1956–1989) California Basketball Association (1952–1956)
Association	NCAA
Founded	1952; 73 years ago (1952)
Commissioner	Stu Jackson (since 2023)
Sports fielded	16 men's: 7 women's: 9
Division	Division I
Subdivision	non-football
No. of teams	10 (9 in 2026)
Headquarters	San Mateo, California
Region	Western United States

The West Coast Conference (WCC) is a group of colleges that compete in sports. It's part of NCAA Division I, which is the highest level of college sports in the United States. The WCC has nine member schools located in California, Oregon, and Washington.

All the schools in the WCC are private and have a religious background. Most are connected to the Catholic Church, and some are Jesuit schools. Pepperdine is linked to the Churches of Christ, and the University of the Pacific is connected to the United Methodist Church.

History of the WCC
- Recent Changes in the 2020s
WCC Member Schools
Sports in the WCC
- Men's Sports Teams
- Women's Sports Teams
Sports Facilities
Famous Athletes from WCC Schools
See also

History of the WCC

The WCC started in 1952 as the California Basketball Association. Five schools from northern California created it. These were San Francisco, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, San Jose State, and Pacific. Their first game was on January 2, 1953.

A few years later, in 1955, the group grew to include schools from the Los Angeles area, like Loyola (now Loyola Marymount) and Pepperdine. In 1956, they changed their name to the "West Coast Athletic Conference." Then, in 1989, they shortened it to just "West Coast Conference."

For many years, the WCC stayed pretty much the same. But around 2010, some big changes happened in college sports. Brigham Young University (BYU) joined the conference in 2011. The University of the Pacific also rejoined in 2013 after being away for 42 years.

The WCC is known as a "mid-major" conference in NCAA Division I. This means it's a strong conference, but not one of the very biggest ones like the Pac-12 or Big Ten. The WCC offers championships in 15 different sports. However, it does not include football. Only the University of San Diego has a football team among the WCC schools.

Historically, the WCC has been very strong in soccer and tennis. They have won many national championships in these sports. In men's basketball, the San Francisco team won two national titles in the 1950s with the legendary player Bill Russell.

More recently, the Gonzaga men's basketball team has become very famous. They have been invited to the NCAA tournament every year since 1999. Gonzaga has become a major basketball power, even though the WCC is a mid-major conference. They have been to the national championship game twice, in 2017 and 2021.

In 2020, the WCC created something called the "Russell Rule." This rule is named after Bill Russell, a famous basketball player from the University of San Francisco. It requires schools to consider people from diverse backgrounds for important jobs in their sports departments, like athletic directors and coaches.

In 2021, BYU announced it would leave the WCC in 2023 to join the Big 12 Conference. In 2022, the WCC added men's water polo as a new sport.

Recent Changes in the 2020s

The world of college sports has seen many changes recently. In December 2023, Oregon State University and Washington State University joined the WCC as "affiliate members" for some sports. This means they compete in the WCC for certain sports, but not all of them.

In May 2024, the WCC announced that Grand Canyon University and Seattle University would join as full members in July 2025. Seattle University is rejoining after being away for 45 years. However, in October 2024, Gonzaga announced it would leave the WCC in 2026 to join the Pac-12 Conference. Then, in November 2024, Grand Canyon University decided not to join the WCC after all. Instead, they chose to join the Mountain West Conference by 2026.

WCC Member Schools

The WCC is made up of private, Christian schools. Most of them are Catholic. The University of the Pacific is connected to the United Methodist Church, and Pepperdine University is linked to the Churches of Christ.

Current Full Members

This school is leaving for the Pac-12 Conference in 2026.

School	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Nickname
Gonzaga University	Spokane, Washington	1887	1979	Private Catholic – Jesuit	Bulldogs
Loyola Marymount University	Los Angeles, California	1865	1955	Private Catholic – Jesuit	Lions
University of the Pacific	Stockton, California	1851	1952; 2013	Private United Methodist Church	Tigers
Pepperdine University	Malibu, California	1937	1955	Private Churches of Christ	Waves
University of Portland	Portland, Oregon	1901	1976	Private Catholic – Holy Cross	Pilots
Saint Mary's College of California	Moraga, California	1863	1952	Private Catholic – De La Salle Brothers	Gaels
University of San Diego	San Diego, California	1949	1979	Private Catholic – Diocesan	Toreros
University of San Francisco	San Francisco, California	1855	1952	Private Catholic – Jesuit	Dons
Santa Clara University	Santa Clara, California	1851	1952	Private Catholic – Jesuit	Broncos
Seattle University	Seattle, Washington	1891	1971; 2025	Private Catholic – Jesuit	Redhawks

Associate Members

Some schools are "associate members," meaning they compete in the WCC for only one or a few specific sports, not all of them.

School	Location	Joined	Type	Team	Primary Conference	WCC Sport(s)
United States Air Force Academy (Air Force)	USAF Academy, Colorado	2023–24	Federal	Falcons	Mountain West	water polo, Men'sMen's water polo
Augusta University	Augusta, Georgia	2025–26	Public	Jaguars	Peach Belt	golf, Men'sMen's golf
Augusta University	Augusta, Georgia	2025–26	Public	Jaguars	Peach Belt	golf, Women'sWomen's golf
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	2023–24	Private Baptist	Lancers	WAC	water polo, Men'sMen's water polo
Creighton University	Omaha, Nebraska	2010–11	Private Jesuit	Bluejays	Big East	rowing, Women'sWomen's rowing
Oregon State University	Corvallis, Oregon	2024–25	Public	Beavers	Pac-12	Multiple
California State University, Sacramento	Sacramento, California	2024–25	Public	Hornets	Big Sky	rowing, Women'sWomen's rowing
San Jose State University	San Jose, California	2023–24	Public	Spartans	Mountain West	water polo, Men'sMen's water polo
Washington State University	Pullman, Washington	2024–25	Public	Cougars	Pac-12	Multiple

Future Associate Member

School	Location	Joining	Type	Team	Primary Conference	WCC Sport(s)
University of California, Davis	Davis, California	2026–27	Public	Aggies	Big West	Beach volleyball
University of California, Davis	Davis, California	2026–27	Public	Aggies	Big West	water polo, Men'sMen's water polo

Former Full Members

These schools used to be full members of the WCC.

School	Nickname	Location	Joined	Left	Current Conference
Brigham Young University (BYU)	Cougars	Provo, Utah	2011	2023	Big 12
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State)	Bulldogs	Fresno, California	1955	1957	Mountain West
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)	Gauchos	Santa Barbara, California	1964	1969	Big West
University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada)	Wolf Pack	Reno, Nevada	1969	1979	Mountain West
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)	Rebels	Las Vegas, Nevada	1969	1975	Mountain West
San Jose State University (SJSU)	Spartans	San Jose, California	1952	1969	Mountain West

Sports in the WCC

The West Coast Conference holds championships in 7 men's sports and 9 women's sports. Men's water polo was added in 2023–24.

**Teams in West Coast Conference competition**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	10	–
Basketball	12	12
Beach Volleyball	–	7
Cross Country	9	12
Golf	12	8
Rowing	–	10
Soccer	10	12
Softball	–	7
Tennis	8	10
Volleyball	–	12
Water Polo	7	–

Men's Sports Teams

Men's sponsored sports by school
School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross country	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Water polo	Total sports
Gonzaga	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	6
Loyola Marymount	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	6
Pacific	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	6
Pepperdine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	6
Portland	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	5
Saint Mary's	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	6
San Diego	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	6
San Francisco	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	5
Santa Clara	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	7
Seattle	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	5
Associate members
Air Force							Yes	1
Augusta				Yes				1
California Baptist							Yes	1
Oregon State		Yes		Yes	Yes			3
San Jose State							Yes	1
Washington State		Yes	Yes	Yes				3
Totals	10	12	9	12	10	8	7	68
Future associate members
UC Davis							Yes	1

Women's Sports Teams

Women's sponsored sports by school
School	Basketball	Beach volleyball	Cross country	Golf	Rowing	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Volleyball	Total WCC sports
Gonzaga	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	7
Loyola Marymount	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	7
Pacific	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	7
Pepperdine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	7
Portland	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	7
Saint Mary's	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
San Diego	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	7
San Francisco	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	7
Santa Clara	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Seattle	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
Associate members
Augusta				Yes						1
Creighton					Yes					1
Oregon State	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	7
Sacramento State					Yes					1
Washington State	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	7
Totals	12	7	12	8	10	12	7	10	12	90
Future associate members
UC Davis		Yes								1

Sports Facilities

Here are some of the sports arenas and fields used by WCC schools.

School	Basketball arena	Capacity	Baseball stadium	Capacity	Soccer stadium	Capacity
Gonzaga	McCarthey Athletic Center	6,000	Washington Trust Field	1,500	Luger Field	2,000
Loyola Marymount	Gersten Pavilion	4,156	George C. Page Stadium	1,200	Sullivan Field	2,000
Oregon State	Gill Coliseum	9,401	Non-baseball member		Paul Lorenz Field	1,500
Pacific	Alex G. Spanos Center	6,150	Klein Family Field	2,500	Knoles Field	600
Pepperdine	Firestone Fieldhouse	3,104	Eddy D. Field Stadium	1,800	Tari Frahm Rokus Field	1,000
Portland	Chiles Center	4,852	Joe Etzel Field	1,000	Merlo Field	4,892
Saint Mary's	University Credit Union Pavilion	3,500	Louis Guisto Field	1,000	Saint Mary's Stadium	5,500
San Diego	Jenny Craig Pavilion	5,100	Fowler Park	1,700	Torero Stadium	6,000
San Francisco	War Memorial Gymnasium	5,300	Dante Benedetti Diamond	2,000	Negoesco Stadium	3,000
Santa Clara	Leavey Center	4,500	Stephen Schott Stadium	1,500	Buck Shaw Stadium	10,300
Seattle	Climate Pledge Arena	18,100	Bannerwood Park	700	Championship Field	650
Washington State	Beasley Coliseum	11,671	Non-baseball member		Lower Soccer Field	—

Famous Athletes from WCC Schools

Many famous athletes have played at WCC schools. Here are a few:

Basketball:
- Bill Russell: A Basketball Hall of Famer and 11-time NBA Champion who played at San Francisco.
- John Stockton: A Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA All-Star from Gonzaga.
- Steve Nash: A Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time NBA MVP from Santa Clara.
- Rui Hachimura: A current NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers, from Gonzaga.
- Chet Holmgren: A current NBA player for the Oklahoma City Thunder, from Gonzaga.
- Kelly Olynyk: A current NBA player for the Miami Heat, from Gonzaga.
- Courtney Vandersloot: A current WNBA player for the New York Liberty, from Gonzaga.
- Matthew Dellavedova: A former NBA player from Saint Mary's.
- Patty Mills: A current NBA player for the Los Angeles Clippers, from Saint Mary's.
- Mahershala Ali: A two-time Academy Award-winning actor who played basketball at Saint Mary's.
Soccer:
- Brandi Chastain: A member of the USA national team that won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, from Santa Clara.
- Shannon MacMillan: Also a member of the 1999 Women's World Cup winners, from Portland.
- Tiffeny Milbrett: Another member of the 1999 Women's World Cup winners, from Portland.
- Megan Rapinoe: A famous American professional soccer player from Portland.
- Christine Sinclair: The all-time leading goal scorer for the Canadian women's national team, from Portland.
Baseball:
- Kris Bryant: A Chicago Cubs player who was the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year and 2016 NL MVP, from San Diego.
- Jason Bay: The 2004 National League Rookie of the Year, from Gonzaga.
- Dan Haren: A former MLB pitcher and All-Star, from Pepperdine.
- Randy Winn: A former MLB outfielder and All-Star, from Santa Clara.
Water Polo:
- Terry Schroeder: A two-time Olympic silver medalist and former head coach of the US men's water polo team, from Pepperdine.
Football:
- Pete Carroll: A famous football coach who led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl win, from Pacific.