West Coast Conference: Difference between revisions

West Coast Conference
Formerly	West Coast Athletic Conference (1956–1989); California Basketball Association (1952–1956)
Association	NCAA
Founded	1952; 72 years ago
Commissioner	Stu Jackson (since 2023)
Sports fielded	16 men's: 7; women's: 9; ;
Division	Division I
Subdivision	non-football
No. of teams	9 (10 in 2025, 9 in 2026)
Headquarters	San Mateo, California
Region	Western United States
Official website	wccsports.com
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Latest revision as of 00:42, 5 December 2024

The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.

All of the current full members are private, faith-based institutions. Seven members are Catholic Church affiliates, with four of these schools being Jesuit institutions. Pepperdine is an affiliate of the Churches of Christ. The conference's newest member, the University of the Pacific (which rejoined in 2013 after a 42-year absence), is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, although it has been financially independent of the church since 1969.^[1]

History

The league was chartered by five northern California institutions, four from the San Francisco Bay Area (San Francisco, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, San Jose State) and one, Pacific, from Stockton. It began as the California Basketball Association, playing its first game on January 2, 1953. After two seasons under that name, the conference expanded to include Los Angeles-area schools Loyola (now Loyola Marymount) and Pepperdine in 1955 and became the "West Coast Athletic Conference" in 1956. After more than three decades as the WCAC, the name was shortened in the summer of 1989, dropping the word "Athletic".^[2]^[3]^[4]

During the massive upheaval of conference affiliations in the 1990s, the WCC remained very stable. Before the 2010 realignment that eventually led to Brigham Young joining the conference, the last change of membership was in 1980, when Seattle University left the conference. At the time, only the Ivy League and Pacific-10 Conference (now the Pac-12 Conference) had remained unchanged for a longer period.

The WCC participates at the NCAA Division I level and is considered to be a mid-major athletic conference. The conference sponsors 15 sports but does not include football as one of them. San Diego (Pioneer Football League) is the only school fielding a football team. The rest have all dropped the sport, some as early as the 1940s, before the conference existed (Gonzaga and Portland), and one as late as 2003 (Saint Mary's).

Historically, the WCC's strongest sports have been soccer (nine national champions, including back-to-back women's soccer titles in 2001 and 2002) and tennis (five individual champions and one team champion). The conference has also made its presence felt nationally in men's basketball. San Francisco won two consecutive national titles in the 1950s with all-time great Bill Russell. Although the WCAC's stature declined in the 1960s, San Francisco was reckoned as a "major" basketball power until the early 1980s. Also of note was Loyola Marymount's inspired run to the Elite Eight in 1990 following the death of Hank Gathers during that season's WCC championship tournament.

More recently, Gonzaga's rise to national prominence after being invited to the NCAA Tournament every year since their Cinderella run to the "Elite Eight" in 1999 has helped make the WCC a household name. As San Francisco was from the 1940s to the early 1980s, Gonzaga has gained recognition as a major basketball power, despite the WCC being a mid-major conference. Gonzaga has been to 23 consecutive NCAA tournaments—the longest streak for any school in the Western United States, the third-longest active streak, and the sixth-longest streak in history. They have also been to all but one WCC tournament final since 1995, and have played for the conference title every year since 1998. In 2016–17, the Bulldogs advanced all the way to the national championship game—the deepest run by a conference team since San Francisco went to three consecutive Final Fours from 1955 to 1957. The Bulldogs reached the title game again in 2021, this time entering the game unbeaten, but again losing, this time to Baylor.

Saint Mary's has also made marks for the conference as the Gaels appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, and 2021 (making the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2010).

Eventually, with the 2010 realignment opening up new avenues for expansion, the WCC decided to revisit expansion plans. The conference decided that it would only seek out private schools, but would not limit its search to faith-based institutions. Even so, the two additions, Brigham Young University and University of the Pacific are both faith-based institutions, although Pacific has not been financially sponsored by the United Methodist Church since 1969.

On August 31, 2010, BYU announced plans to join the WCC for the 2011–12 season in all sports the conference offers. BYU joined the conference on July 1, 2011.^[5]^[6] BYU's arrival gave the WCC another school with a rich basketball tradition. The Cougars made the NCAA Tournament six straight times before failing to do so in 2013, and had made 26 NCAA Tournament appearances before joining the conference.

On March 27, 2012, the University of the Pacific (UOP), a charter member of the conference in 1952, accepted an invitation to rejoin the WCC, effective July 1, 2013. The move removed Pacific from the Big West Conference back to the WCC, which Pacific left in 1971 in order to pursue its interests in football that it later abandoned in 1995.^[7]

The WCC became the first Division I conference to adopt a conference-wide diversity hiring commitment, announcing the "Russell Rule", based on the NFL's Rooney Rule and named after Basketball Hall of Famer and social activist Bill Russell, a graduate of charter and current conference member San Francisco, on August 2, 2020. In its announcement, the WCC stated:^[8]

The "Russell Rule" requires each member institution to include a member of a traditionally underrepresented community in the pool of final candidates for every athletic director, senior administrator, head coach and full-time assistant coach position in the athletic department.

In September 2021, BYU announced that it would leave the WCC in 2023 for the Big 12 Conference.^[9] The WCC announced on July 19, 2022 that it would add men's water polo starting in 2023–24. Full members Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Pepperdine, and Santa Clara were joined by affiliates Air Force, California Baptist, and San Jose State.^[10]

2020s conference realignment

On December 22, 2023, the WCC announced that Oregon State University and Washington State University, the two schools left behind by the collapse of the Pac-12 Conference, would become affiliate members in all sports apart from football and baseball through 2025–26.^[11] This was followed in May 2024 with the announcement that Grand Canyon University and Seattle University would join in July 2025, with Seattle rejoining after a 45-year absence.^[12] On October 1, 2024, Gonzaga announced they were leaving the conference to join the Pac-12 as a full member.^[13] On November 1, 2024, Grand Canyon announced they were declining the WCC's invitation to join the conference in 2025, instead accepting an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference no later than 2026.^[14]

Member schools

WCC Member locations

– Full member

– Departing full member

– Future members

– Affiliate member
Not pictured:

Affiliate member Creighton

Current full members

The WCC is made up entirely of private, Christian institutions with all but two being Catholic. Pacific is affiliated with the United Methodist Church while Pepperdine is affiliated with the Churches of Christ.
Member departing for the Pac-12 Conference in 2026.

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Endowment (millions)	Nickname
Gonzaga University	Spokane, Washington	1887	1979	Private Catholic – Jesuit	7,421	$399.6	Bulldogs
Loyola Marymount University	Los Angeles, California	1865	1955	Private Catholic – Jesuit	8,972	$611.3	Lions
University of the Pacific	Stockton, California	1851	1952; 2013^[a]	Private United Methodist Church	6,652	$568.2	Tigers
Pepperdine University	Malibu, California^[b]	1937	1955	Private Churches of Christ	6,000	$1,205	Waves
University of Portland	Portland, Oregon	1901	1976	Private Catholic – Holy Cross	3,200	$297.2	Pilots
Saint Mary's College of California	Moraga, California	1863	1952	Private Catholic – De La Salle Brothers	4,768	$215	Gaels
University of San Diego	San Diego, California	1949	1979	Private Catholic – Diocesan	7,548	$652.5	Toreros
University of San Francisco	San Francisco, California	1855	1952	Private Catholic – Jesuit	10,017	$478.5	Dons
Santa Clara University	Santa Clara, California	1851	1952	Private Catholic – Jesuit	8,300	$1,471	Broncos

Future members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joining	Type	Enrollment	Endowment (millions)	Nickname	Colors	Current conference
Seattle University	Seattle, Washington	1891	2025^[c]	Private Catholic – Jesuit	7,755	$241.2	Redhawks		WAC

Notes

^ Pacific left the WCC after the 1970–71 school year to join the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (now known as the Big West Conference); and rejoined the WCC, effective with the 2013–14 school year.
^ The Pepperdine campus has a Malibu mailing address but lies entirely within unincorporated Los Angeles County.
^ Seattle was previously a member of the WCC from 1971 to 1980.

Associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Endowment (millions)	Team	Primary conference	WCC sport(s)
United States Air Force Academy (Air Force)	USAF Academy, Colorado	1954	2023–24	Federal	4,304	$98.9	Falcons	Mountain West	Men's water polo
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	1950	2023–24	Private Baptist	11,580	$119.1	Lancers	WAC	Men's water polo
Creighton University	Omaha, Nebraska	1878	2010–11	Private Jesuit	8,910	$713	Bluejays	Big East	Women's rowing
Oregon State University	Corvallis, Oregon	1868	2024–25	Public	37,121	$819.6	Beavers	Pac-12	Multiple^[a]
California State University, Sacramento	Sacramento, California	1947	2024–25	Public	31,181	$92.9	Hornets	Big Sky	Women's rowing
San Jose State University	San Jose, California	1857	2023–24	Public	33,025	$197.1	Spartans	Mountain West	Men's water polo
Washington State University	Pullman, Washington	1890	2024–25	Public	20,976^[b]	$1,290	Cougars	Pac-12	Multiple^[c]

^ Oregon State competes as an associate member in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, softball, men's and women's golf, women's cross country and women's rowing.
^ Includes only enrollment at the main Pullman campus. Washington State has four other physical campuses.
^ Washington State competes as an associate member in men's and women's basketball, women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's golf, women's tennis, men's and women's cross country and women's rowing.

Former full members

Of the former members of the WCC, only BYU (Latter Day Saints), and Seattle (Catholic) are Christian institutions. The other five are all public universities.

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Current conference
Brigham Young University (BYU)	Cougars	Provo, Utah	1875	Private LDS	34,737	2011	2023	Big 12
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State)	Bulldogs	Fresno, California	1911	Public	22,565	1955	1957	Mountain West
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)	Gauchos	Santa Barbara, California^[a]	1891	Public	21,927	1964	1969	Big West
University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada)	Wolf Pack	Reno, Nevada	1874	Public	18,227	1969	1979	Mountain West
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)	Rebels	Las Vegas, Nevada^[b]	1957	Public	28,203	1969	1975	Mountain West
San Jose State University (SJSU)	Spartans	San Jose, California	1857	Public	30,448	1952	1969	Mountain West
Seattle University^[c]	Redhawks	Seattle, Washington	1891	Private Jesuit	7,500	1971	1980	WAC

^ The UCSB campus has a Santa Barbara mailing address, but is outside the city limits in the unincorporated community of Isla Vista.
^ The UNLV campus lies outside the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated community of Paradise. The U.S. Postal Service considers all unincorporated areas within the Las Vegas Valley to have a Las Vegas address.
^ Seattle will rejoin the WCC in 2025.

Former associate members

Institution	Team	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Primary conference	WCC sport(s)
California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB)^[a]	Roadrunners	Bakersfield, California	1965	Public	8,317	2012–13	2012–13	Big West	women's golf
California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA)	Golden Eagles	Los Angeles, California	1947	Public	23,258	1975–76	1975–76	CCAA (NCAA Division II)	baseball
University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada)	Wolf Pack	Reno, Nevada	1874	Public	18,227	1984–85	1990–91	Mountain West	baseball
University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada)	Wolf Pack	Reno, Nevada	1874	Public	18,227	1985–86	1986–87	Mountain West	women's basketball, women's tennis, women's volleyball
United States International University (USIU)	Gulls	San Diego, California	2001	Private	3,871	1985–86	1986–87	n/a^[b]	women's basketball, women's tennis, women's volleyball

Notes

^ The school started the process of rebranding its athletic program as Bakersfield in 2023–24.
^ USIU dropped its athletics program following the end of the 1990–91 school year.

Membership timeline

Full members Associate member (basketball) Associate member (other sports) Other Conference Other Conference

Due to space limitations, the following affiliations are not linked within the timeline:
- Fresno State had dual membership with the California Collegiate Athletic Association during their tenure in the WCAC before committing full-time with the CCAA from 1957 to 1969:
- Pepperdine was an independent school for the 1954–55 season.
- UC Santa Barbara joined what was then the Big West Conference in 1969. It left in 1974 to become independent and returned in 1976.
- USIU was a full independent after departing the WCC conference before dropping all collegiate athletics in 1991.
- Oregon State and Washington State have a two-year agreement with the WCC for associate memberships in various sports. It has not been announced which conference the associate sports will join in 2026.

Sports

The West Coast Conference sponsors championship competition in seven men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports, with the newest addition being men's water polo in 2023–24.^[15]

**Teams in West Coast Conference competition**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	9	-
Basketball	11	11
Beach Volleyball	-	7
Cross Country	8	11
Golf	10	6
Rowing	-	8
Soccer	9	11
Softball	-	6
Tennis	8	9
Volleyball	-	11
Water Polo	7	-

Men's sports

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
Associate members
Air Force							Yes	1
California Baptist							Yes	1
Oregon State		Yes		Yes	Yes			3
San Jose State							Yes	1
Washington State		Yes	Yes	Yes				3
Totals	9	11	8	10	9	8	7	62
Future full members
Seattle	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No^[a]	No	5

^ Seattle currently sponsors men's tennis, but will drop the sport at the end of the 2024–25 season, before officially rejoining the WCC.^[16]

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the West Coast Conference which are played by WCC schools
School	Football	Rowing^[a]	Swimming & diving	Track & field (indoor)	Track & field (outdoor)	Volleyball
Gonzaga	No	WIRA	No	Independent	Independent	No
Pacific	No	No	MPSF	No	No	No
Pepperdine	No	No	No	No	Independent	MPSF
Portland	No	No	No	Independent	Independent	No
Saint Mary's	No	No	No	Independent	Independent	No
San Diego	Pioneer League	WIRA	No	No	No	No
San Francisco	No	No	No	Independent	Independent	No
Santa Clara	No	WIRA	No	Independent	Independent	No
Seattle	No	No	Big West	WAC^[b]	WAC^[c]	No

^ The NCAA sanctions rowing only for women. Men's college rowing is governed by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association.
^ Seattle will drop men's indoor track & field at the end of the 2024–25 season.^[16]
^ Seattle has not announced a future affiliation in this sport.

Women's sports

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
Associate members
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	11	7	11	6	9	11	6	9	11	81
Future full members
Seattle	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
Future associate members

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the West Coast Conference that are played by WCC schools
School	Swimming & diving	Track & field (indoor)	Track & field (outdoor)	Water polo
Gonzaga	No	Independent	Independent	No
Loyola Marymount	No	No	No	Golden Coast
Pacific	MPSF	No	Independent	Golden Coast
Pepperdine	MPSF	MPSF	Independent	No
Portland	No	MPSF	Independent	No
Saint Mary's	No	MPSF	Independent	No
San Diego	MPSF^[a]	No	Independent	No
San Francisco	No	MPSF	Independent	No
Santa Clara	No	Independent	Independent	Golden Coast
Seattle	Big West	WAC^[b]	WAC^[c]	No

^ Joining the Big West in 2025.
^ Seattle will drop women's indoor track & field at the end of the 2024–25 season.^[16]
^ Seattle has not announced a future affiliation in this sport.

Facilities

Future members in gray. Departing member in pink.

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^[a]		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^[b]	18,100	Bannerwood Park	700	Championship Field	650
Washington State	Beasley Coliseum	11,671	Non-baseball member^[a]		Lower Soccer Field	—

^ ^a ^b At the time Oregon State and Washington State were announced as incoming associate members for 2024–25 and 2025–26, they had a 30-day window to potentially add baseball to their membership. The window expired on January 26, 2024 with no announcement from the WCC or either school.^[17] Washington State later joined the Mountain West Conference for baseball, while Oregon State opted to compete as an independent.^[18]^[19]
^ Seattle also uses the on-campus Redhawk Center (capacity 999) for home games.

Notable sports figures

Some of the famous athletes who played collegiately for WCC schools and coaches and executives that attended WCC schools, include:

Basketball:
- Mahershala Ali, two-time Academy Award-winning actor who played basketball at Saint Mary's under his birth name of Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore
- David Cooke, former NBA player (St. Mary's)
- Dan Dickau, former NBA player (2002-2008) (Gonzaga)
- Brandon Davies, former NBA player who currently plays in the Liga ACB. During his sophomore year, he helped BYU rise as high as #3 in the national polls before being suspended for an honor code violation. He was reinstated for his junior and senior seasons and named to the All West Coast Conference team. (2009-2013) (BYU)
- Rick Adelman, former NBA head coach (Loyola Marymount)
- Dennis Awtrey, former NBA player (1970-1982) (Santa Clara)
- Bernie Bickerstaff, former NBA head coach (San Diego)
- Mike Brown, former NBA head coach (San Diego)
- Ricardo Brown, former NBA player, one of the Philippine Basketball Association's 25 Greatest Players
- Bill Cartwright, former NBA player and head coach, former NBA All-Star (San Francisco)
- Mike Champion, former NBA player (1988-1989) (Gonzaga)
- Doug Christie, former NBA player (1993–2007) selected 17th overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics (Pepperdine)
- Darwin Cook, former NBA player (1980-1989) (Portland)
- Matthew Dellavedova, former NBA player with several teams, and currently with Melbourne United in the Australian NBL (Saint Mary's)
- Maggie Dixon, former women's head coach at Army (San Diego)
- Richie Frahm, former NBA player (2003-2008) (Gonzaga)
- Hank Gathers, college player who led the nation in scoring and rebounding in 1990 before collapsing and dying during the WCC tournament (Loyola Marymount)
- Rui Hachimura, current NBA player with the Los Angeles Lakers (Gonzaga)˜
- Bruce Hale, former NBA player (1948–51) (Santa Clara)
- Elias Harris, current Germany international (Gonzaga)
- Chet Holmgren, current NBA player with the Oklahoma City Thunder (Gonzaga)˜
- Dennis Johnson, Basketball Hall of Famer, former NBA player (1976-1990) 1979 NBA Finals MVP and 5-Time NBA All-Star. Coached the Los Angeles Clippers for one season (2003) (Pepperdine)
- K. C. Jones, former NBA player (1958-1967), and Basketball Hall of Famer (San Francisco)
- Bo Kimble, former NBA player (1990-1993) (Loyola Marymount)
- Corey Kispert, current NBA player with the Washington Wizards (Gonzaga)˜
- Harold Keeling, former NBA player, (1986), (Santa Clara)
- Tom Meschery, former NBA player (1961-1971), and NBA All-Star (1963) (Saint Mary's)
- Patty Mills, current Australia men's international with the Atlanta Hawks (Saint Mary's)
- Adam Morrison, former NBA player known for being the 3rd overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Charlotte Bobcats and the 2005-06 National College Co-Player of the Year (Gonzaga)
- Austin Daye, former NBA player, also with European professional experience. Selected with the 15th pick of the 2009 NBA Draft (Gonzaga)
- Stew Morrill, former college head coach Utah State (Gonzaga)
- Eric Musselman, former NBA head coach (San Diego)
- Steve Nash, Basketball Hall of Famer, former NBA player (1996-2014) and 2005 and 2006 NBA MVP (Santa Clara)
- Andrew Nembhard, current NBA player with the Indiana Pacers (Gonzaga)˜
- Dick O'Keefe, inaugural season NBA player, (1947–51) (Santa Clara)
- Bud Ogden, former NBA player, (1969-1971) (Santa Clara)
- Michael Olowokandi, former NBA player (Pacific)
- Kelly Olynyk, current Canada men's international with the Miami Heat (Gonzaga)
- Jeremy Pargo, current NBA player with the Cleveland Cavaliers (Gonzaga)
- Filip Petrušev, NBA draft 2021, Philadelphia 76ers; currently plays for Crvena zvezda of the Adriatic League and EuroLeague (Gonzaga)
- Kurt Rambis, former NBA player (1981-1995) and NBA head coach (1999 and 2009-2011) (Santa Clara)
- Bill Russell, Basketball Hall of Fame Player (12-Time All-Star, 5-Time NBA MVP, and 11-Time NBA Champion) and coach, 1956 College Player of the Year (San Francisco)
- Robert Sacre, current NBA player with the Los Angeles Lakers, and current Canada international (Gonzaga)
- Omar Samhan, currently playing in Lithuania and the Euroleague with Žalgiris (Saint Mary's)
- Ken Sears, former NBA Player (1955–64), First basketball player on a Sports Illustrated cover. (Santa Clara)
- Jose Slaughter, former NBA player (1982-1983) (Portland)
- Erik Spoelstra, current head coach of the Miami Heat (Portland)
- John Stockton, Basketball Hall of Famer (10-Time All-Star, and All-Time NBA Leader in Assists and Steals) (Gonzaga)
- Jalen Suggs, current NBA player with the Orlando Magic (Gonzaga)
- Drew Timme, current player with the Wisconsin Herd in the NBA G League (Gonzaga)˜
- Ronny Turiaf, current Los Angeles Clippers player (Gonzaga)
- Courtney Vandersloot, current WNBA player with the New York Liberty (Gonzaga)
- Nick Vanos, former NBA player, (1985–87) (Santa Clara)
Soccer:
- Conor Casey, 2010 MLS Cup MVP, 2009 MLS Best XI, and former United States men's national soccer team forward (Portland)
- Brandi Chastain, member of the USA national team that won the 1999 Women's World Cup (Santa Clara)
- Steve Cherundolo, Hannover 96 captain and three-time World Cup veteran (2002, 2006, 2010) with the United States men's national soccer team (Portland)
- Brian Ching, USA men's national team player (Gonzaga)
- John Doyle, general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, former USA men's national team player (San Francisco)
- Kasey Keller, former US international goalkeeper and four-time World Cup (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006) veteran (Portland)
- Shannon MacMillan, member of the 1999 Women's World Cup winners (Portland)
- Tiffeny Milbrett, member of the 1999 Women's World Cup winners (Portland)
- Megan Rapinoe, American professional soccer player who plays the United States women's national soccer team (Portland)
- Christine Sinclair, two-time Hermann Trophy winner and all-time leading goal scorer for the Canadian women's national team (Portland)
- Aly Wagner, 2002 Hermann Trophy winner and member of the US women's soccer team that won gold at the 2004 Olympics (Santa Clara)
Baseball:
- Jon Moscot, major league baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds)
- Jason Bay, 2004 National League Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star (Gonzaga)
- Vance Law, former MLB player, and 1-time MLB All-Star (1988). Former BYU Baseball Coach (2000-2012). Son of MLB Pitcher Vern Law. (BYU)
- Randy Winn, former MLB outfielder and 2002 All-Star (Santa Clara)
- Dan Haren, 2007 American League All-Star Game starting pitcher, currently with the Washington Nationals (Pepperdine)
- Noah Lowry, major-league pitcher (currently a free agent) and former college roommate of Dan Haren (Pepperdine)
- Mike Redmond, former MLB catcher and current manager of the Florida Marlins (Gonzaga)
- Mark Teahen, former MLB player (Saint Mary's)
- Tom Candiotti, former MLB pitcher (Saint Mary's)
- Mike Scott, former major-league pitcher (Pepperdine)
- Randy Wolf, former MLB pitcher (Pepperdine)
- Brian Matusz, pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles (San Diego)
- CJ Wilson, pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Loyola Marymount)
- Theo Epstein, President of the Chicago Cubs and former general manager of the Boston Red Sox (San Diego – School of Law only; earned bachelor's degree at Yale)
- Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs 3rd baseman, 2013 2nd overall draft pick, 2015 National League Rookie of the Year, and 2016 NL MVP leading the Cubs to the 2016 World Series Championship (San Diego)
- Bill Bavasi, MLB executive (San Diego)
- Ken Dayley, former major league pitcher, 1980 1st round draft pick, 3rd overall, pitched in both the '85 and '87 World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals (Portland)
- Bill Krueger, former major league pitcher (Portland)
- Pat Casey, current Oregon State baseball head coach, his team winning both the 2006 and 2007 College World Series (Portland)
- Von Hayes, former major league outfielder/first baseman (Saint Mary's)
Water polo:
- Terry Schroeder – former NCAA player, two-time Olympic silver medal winner (1984 and 1988), and Head Coach of silver medal winning men's water polo team at the 2008 Summer Olympics (Pepperdine)^[20]^[21]
- Merrill Moses – silver medal winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics (Pepperdine)^[21]
- Jesse Smith – silver medal winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics (Pepperdine)^[21]
Volleyball:
- Mike Whitmarsh – winner of 28 AVP beach volleyball events, as well as a silver medal in the sport at the 1996 Summer Olympics (San Diego – volleyball and basketball; however, men's volleyball is not a WCC sport)
- Taylor Sander – member of the American US Indoor Volleyball team and a player for Blu Volleyball Verona. Led US national team to an upset of Brazil to win the FIVB World League 2014. Was named best outside spiker and tournament MVP. He holds the BYU all-time single-match record for service aces (nine) and career service aces (182). In the rally-scoring era ranks No. 1 at BYU in career kills (1,743), career attempts (3,464), career service aces (182), season attempts (1,021 in 2014), season service aces (55 in 2014) and aces in a match (nine).^[22] (BYU – volleyball; however Men's Indoor volleyball isn't a WCC sport)
Football
- Hust Stockton – back; Frankford Yellow Jackets (NFL) (1925–1928). Member of the Yellow Jackets' 1926 NFL Championship team. Grandfather of John Stockton. (Gonzaga)
- Ray Flaherty – end; Los Angeles Wildcats (1926), New York Yankees (1927–1928), New York Giants (1928–1929, 1931–1935), No. 1 retired. Head Coach; Gonzaga Bulldogs (1930), Boston/Washington Redskins (1936–1942), New York Yankees (1946–1948), Chicago Hornets (1949). Three time NFL champion (1934, 1937, 1942). Pro Football Hall of Fame (1976). (Gonzaga)
- Tony Canadeo – halfback; Green Bay Packers (1941–1944, 1946–1952). Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, No. 3 retired, Pro Football Hall of Fame (1974). (Gonzaga)
- Tom Fears – wide receiver and defensive back; Los Angeles Rams (1948–1956). The first Mexican-born player to be drafted into the National Football League. Broke the NFL's single-season record in 1949 with 77 receptions for 1013 yards, and again in 1950 with 84 receptions for 1116 yards. Career totals include 400 receptions for 5,397 yards and 38 touchdowns. Pro Football Hall of Fame (1970). (Santa Clara)
- Pete Carroll – former coach of the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, former head coach of USC Trojans of the NCAA. Led Seattle to Super Bowl XLVIII, where they defeated the Denver Broncos. Led the USC Trojans to 6 BCS Bowl victories.^[23] (Pacific)
- Ted Leland – a first team PCAA selection as a defensive end in 1969. Current athletic director at Pacific. Served as athletic director at Stanford University for 12 years, leading them to the NACDA Directors' Cup from 1995 to 2005.^[24] (Pacific)
- John Fassel – special teams coordinator for the St. Louis Rams of the NFL.^[25] (Pacific)
- Hue Jackson – former head coach of the Cleveland Browns, former offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, former head coach of the Oakland Raiders.^[26] (Pacific)

References

^ "History & Mission". University of the Pacific. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
^ "Transactions: College". Times Daily. Florence, AL. Associated Press. July 14, 1989. p. 2B.
^ "WCAC shortens its name to West Coast Conference". Spokane Chronicle. July 14, 1989. p. B5.
^ West Coast Conference Official Athletics Site – On Campus Archived March 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Wccsports.cstv.com (July 1, 2011).
^ "BYU Becomes Ninth Member of West Coast Conference" (Press release). West Coast Conference. July 1, 2011. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
^ Katz, Andy (August 31, 2010). "BYU leaving MWC for 2011–12 season". ESPN. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
^ VanderBeek, Brian (March 28, 2012). "University of the Pacific joins West Coast Conference". The Modesto Bee. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
^ "Russell Rule Diversity Hiring Commitment" (Press release). West Coast Conference. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
^ "BYU to Join Big 12 Conference" (Press release). BYU Cougars. September 7, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^ "West Coast Conference Adds Men's Water Polo" (Press release). West Coast Conference. July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
^ "West Coast Conference Adds Oregon State and Washington State as Affiliate Members" (Press release). West Coast Conference. December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
^ "West Coast Conference Adds Grand Canyon University and Seattle University as Members" (Press release). West Coast Conference. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
^ "Gonzaga Accepts Invitation to Join Pac-12 Conference". www.gonzaga.edu.
^ "GCU accepts invite to Mountain West Conference" (Press release). Grand Canyon University Athletics. November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
^ "West Coast Conference Adds Men's Water Polo" (Press release). West Coast Conference. July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Seattle University Athletics to Discontinue Three Sport Programs" (Press release). Seattle Redhawks. November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
^ Brown, Matt (January 25, 2024). "Here's the affiliate sports contract between the WCC, OSU and WSU:". Extra Points. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
^ "Mountain West Adds Washington State in Baseball and Women's Swimming" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
^ Freeman, Joe (January 26, 2024). "Oregon State baseball to play independent schedule in 2025, giving Beavers chance to 'create our own identity'". The Oregonian.
^ Pepperdine Athletes Prepare for Beijing Olympics | Pepperdine University. Pepperdine.edu.
^ ^a ^b ^c National Men Water Polo Team USA Men's Olympic Team Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Usawaterpolo.org.
^ "BYU sweeps California Baptist as Taylor Sander sets program kills record". NCAA. March 23, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
^ [1] Archived July 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^ Dr. Ted Leland. "Ted Leland Bio – Pacific". Pacifictigers.com. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
^ "John Fassel athletic career, photos, articles, and videos". Fanbase. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
^ Hobson, Geoff. "Cincinnati Bengals: Hue Jackson". Bengals.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2015.

External links

Official website

[15] Pacific left the WCC after the 1970–71 school year to join the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (now known as the Big West Conference); and rejoined the WCC, effective with the 2013–14 school year.

[16] The Pepperdine campus has a Malibu mailing address but lies entirely within unincorporated Los Angeles County.

[17] Seattle was previously a member of the WCC from 1971 to 1980.

[18] Oregon State competes as an associate member in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, softball, men's and women's golf, women's cross country and women's rowing.

[19] Includes only enrollment at the main Pullman campus. Washington State has four other physical campuses.

[20] Washington State competes as an associate member in men's and women's basketball, women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's golf, women's tennis, men's and women's cross country and women's rowing.

[21] The UCSB campus has a Santa Barbara mailing address, but is outside the city limits in the unincorporated community of Isla Vista.

[22] The UNLV campus lies outside the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated community of Paradise. The U.S. Postal Service considers all unincorporated areas within the Las Vegas Valley to have a Las Vegas address.

[23] Seattle will rejoin the WCC in 2025.

[24] The school started the process of rebranding its athletic program as Bakersfield in 2023–24.

[25] USIU dropped its athletics program following the end of the 1990–91 school year.

[28] Seattle currently sponsors men's tennis, but will drop the sport at the end of the 2024–25 season, before officially rejoining the WCC.^[16]

[29] The NCAA sanctions rowing only for women. Men's college rowing is governed by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association.

[30] Seattle will drop men's indoor track & field at the end of the 2024–25 season.^[16]

[SUTBA-31] Seattle has not announced a future affiliation in this sport.

[32] Joining the Big West in 2025.

[33] Seattle will drop women's indoor track & field at the end of the 2024–25 season.^[16]

[SUTBA-34] Seattle has not announced a future affiliation in this sport.

[Pac2-38] At the time Oregon State and Washington State were announced as incoming associate members for 2024–25 and 2025–26, they had a 30-day window to potentially add baseball to their membership. The window expired on January 26, 2024 with no announcement from the WCC or either school.^[17] Washington State later joined the Mountain West Conference for baseball, while Oregon State opted to compete as an independent.^[18]^[19]

[39] Seattle also uses the on-campus Redhawk Center (capacity 999) for home games.

[1] "History & Mission". University of the Pacific. Retrieved March 31, 2012.

[trsxn789-2] "Transactions: College". Times Daily. Florence, AL. Associated Press. July 14, 1989. p. 2B.

[wcacwcc-3] "WCAC shortens its name to West Coast Conference". Spokane Chronicle. July 14, 1989. p. B5.

[4] West Coast Conference Official Athletics Site – On Campus Archived March 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Wccsports.cstv.com (July 1, 2011).

[5] "BYU Becomes Ninth Member of West Coast Conference" (Press release). West Coast Conference. July 1, 2011. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.

[6] Katz, Andy (August 31, 2010). "BYU leaving MWC for 2011–12 season". ESPN. Retrieved September 1, 2010.

[7] VanderBeek, Brian (March 28, 2012). "University of the Pacific joins West Coast Conference". The Modesto Bee. Retrieved March 28, 2012.

[8] "Russell Rule Diversity Hiring Commitment" (Press release). West Coast Conference. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.

[9] "BYU to Join Big 12 Conference" (Press release). BYU Cougars. September 7, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2022.

[10] "West Coast Conference Adds Men's Water Polo" (Press release). West Coast Conference. July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.

[11] "West Coast Conference Adds Oregon State and Washington State as Affiliate Members" (Press release). West Coast Conference. December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.

[12] "West Coast Conference Adds Grand Canyon University and Seattle University as Members" (Press release). West Coast Conference. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.

[13] "Gonzaga Accepts Invitation to Join Pac-12 Conference". www.gonzaga.edu.

[14] "GCU accepts invite to Mountain West Conference" (Press release). Grand Canyon University Athletics. November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.

[26] "West Coast Conference Adds Men's Water Polo" (Press release). West Coast Conference. July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2023.

[SeattleDrop25-27] "Seattle University Athletics to Discontinue Three Sport Programs" (Press release). Seattle Redhawks. November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.

[35] Brown, Matt (January 25, 2024). "Here's the affiliate sports contract between the WCC, OSU and WSU:". Extra Points. Retrieved January 25, 2024.

[36] "Mountain West Adds Washington State in Baseball and Women's Swimming" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.

[37] Freeman, Joe (January 26, 2024). "Oregon State baseball to play independent schedule in 2025, giving Beavers chance to 'create our own identity'". The Oregonian.

[40] Pepperdine Athletes Prepare for Beijing Olympics | Pepperdine University. Pepperdine.edu.

[usawaterpolo.org-41] National Men Water Polo Team USA Men's Olympic Team Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Usawaterpolo.org.

[ncaa-42] "BYU sweeps California Baptist as Taylor Sander sets program kills record". NCAA. March 23, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.

[43] [1] Archived July 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine

[44] Dr. Ted Leland. "Ted Leland Bio – Pacific". Pacifictigers.com. Retrieved July 19, 2015.

[45] "John Fassel athletic career, photos, articles, and videos". Fanbase. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.

[46] Hobson, Geoff. "Cincinnati Bengals: Hue Jackson". Bengals.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2015.

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v t e West Coast Conference
Full members	Gonzaga Bulldogs (leaving in 2026) Loyola Marymount Lions Pacific Tigers Pepperdine Waves Portland Pilots Saint Mary's Gaels San Diego Toreros San Francisco Dons Santa Clara Broncos
Future full members	Seattle Redhawks (joining in 2025)
Multi-sport associates	Oregon State Beavers Washington State Cougars (both leaving in 2026)
Women's rowing associates	Creighton Bluejays Sacramento State Hornets
Men's water polo associates	Air Force Falcons California Baptist Lancers San Jose State Spartans

v t e NCAA Division I all-sports conferences
FBS	The American Atlantic Coast Big 12 Big Ten CUSA Mid-American Mountain West Pac-12 Southeastern Sun Belt
FCS - Full	Big Sky Ivy MEAC Northeast Patriot SoCon Southland SWAC
FCS - Alliance	BSOVC (Big South / Ohio Valley) CAA FB (CAA / Atlantic 10 / America East) Missouri Valley FB (Missouri Valley / Summit) United (ASUN / WAC)
Non-Football	Big East Big West Horizon MAAC West Coast