About the Big West Conference
The Big West Conference enters the 2007-08 season in its 39th year of operation. There are 17 conference-sponsored sports in the Big West. Women's sports are comprised of soccer, volleyball, cross country, swimming and diving, basketball, golf, tennis, softball and track and field. Men's sports include soccer, cross country, swimming and diving, basketball, golf, tennis, baseball and track and field.

Over nearly four decades, the conference has striven for athletic and academic success, and has accomplished those goals to a large degree. The conference has undergone membership changes throughout its long history, the most recent ones significantly enhancing its stability.

Following the 2004-05 academic year, Idaho and Utah State left the Big West, creating an eight-team league comprised of all California schools: Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific. A ninth school from the Golden State - UC Davis - became the newest member of the Big West on July 1, 2007 after completing a four-year reclassification process from Division II to Division I. The Big West owns the distinction of being the nation's only conference with its entire membership located in one state.

No matter what the membership makeup, the Big West always has stacked up well against the rest of the nation. In fact, the conference has claimed 17 team national championships in its history, including six in women's volleyball, two in baseball, one in softball and one in men's basketball. Men's soccer was the newest sport added to the list when UC Santa Barbara claimed the national title last December.

Individually, Big West athletes also have claimed several titles in such sports as swimming, track and field, and golf. In fact, Cal State Northridge junior Dashalle Andrews was the 26th Big West student-athlete to capture a crown when he won the long jump competition at the national meet this past June.

The conference's overall success has been measured through the results of such competitions as the United States Sports Academy Directors Cup. Presented by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the Cup gauges the best overall collegiate athletics programs in NCAA Division I according to their finishes in NCAA postseason play. In 2006-07, the Big West was one of only two non Division I-A conferences to have as many as five schools ranked in the top 100. Five schools were slotted within the top 91, led by UC Irvine's highest finish ever at No. 56. UC Santa Barbara (No. 61), Cal State Fullerton (No. 79), Cal Poly (No. 84) and Long Beach State (No. 91) also had solid success. UCI's ranking was second among non Division I-A schools.

On a worldwide scale, Big West athletes also have competed over the years in such international competitions as the Olympics and Pan-American Games. A sampling of athletes who have competed at the Olympic level include Long Beach State's Tara Cross-Battle, Tayyiba Haneef and Danielle Scott (women's indoor volleyball), and Misty May (women's beach volleyball); UC Santa Barbara's Jason Lezak (men's swimming), Cal State Fullerton's Leon Wood (men's basketball) and Jenny Topping (softball); Pacific's Elaina Oden (women's volleyball) and Brad Schumacher (men's swimming); and UC Irvine's Steve Scott (men's track and field).

Big West Success Found in all Sports
The 2006-07 season presented another slew of highlights for Big West Conference schools, including two national championships and a pair of schools reaching the mecca of baseball, the College World Series.

Postseason achievements were on display from the get go. The fall sports season began with the UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team capturing its first NCAA Championship. The Gauchos knocked off long-time nemesis UCLA, 2-1, in the championship game, marking the 17th national team title in Big West history. UCSB's Tim Vom Steeg earned a prestigious honor as the NSCAA National Coach of the Year in leading the Gauchos to the pinnacle of college soccer. In addition, the Big West ranked seventh nationally among conferences in the final computer rankings.

Fast forward to the spring, when Cal State Northridge junior track superstar Dashalle Andrews captured the national championship in the men's long jump. Andrews jumped 25-02.50 (7.68) on his first attempt in becoming the 12th Big West men's track athlete, and first since 2000, to hoist a national crown.

The Midwest became a Big West baseball love fest and media frenzy as first-time participant UC Irvine and four-time national champion Cal State Fullerton descended upon Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series. The event featured two Big West entries for the third time overall (and first since 1991) and both schools delivered enough exciting memories to overflow a scrapbook.

The Anteaters and Titans squared off against one another in baseball's equivalent to the Ironman Triathlon. After five hours and 40 minutes of battle, UCI eked out a 5-4, 13-inning victory to cap off the longest game in CWS history. "Eater Nation" became even more widespread one night later when the fan and media favorites overcame a four-run deficit to win 8-7 in 10 innings over Arizona State. The majority of 29,034 chanted "AHL-LEE, AHL-LEE" in reference to UCI center fielder Ollie Linton, whose game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th touched off a wild celebration. T-shirts adorned with the message -Fear The Snout- took hold of Rosenblatt Stadium and the surrounding area. ESPN cameras followed the Anteaters around like a bunch of termites in search of wood.

And not to be lost in the pandemonium was the fact that UCI became the first team in CWS history to win back-to-back extra inning games. Despite bowing out of the tournament in the next game, the overall performance was magical considering six years ago UCI didn't have a baseball program.

The accomplishments were not confined to just men's soccer, track and field, and baseball. The list extended far beyond.

Revisiting the fall season, in women's volleyball, three Big West teams advanced to the NCAA championships with two members (Cal Poly and Long Beach State) being among the 16 schools nationally that hosted first round matches. UC Santa Barbara competed in its 26th consecutive postseason to remain one of three schools (Penn State and Stanford are the others) to have reached the NCAA Tournament every year.

The Big West ranked eighth nationally among 31 Division I conferences in the NCAA's season-ending women's soccer computer rankings. Cal State Fullerton became the first Big West school to win NCAA Tournament first round matches in back-to-back seasons.

Three Big West cross country athletes earned All-America status with their performances at the NCAA Championships - Cal Poly's Phillip Reid, and UC Santa Barbara's J.D. Krawczyk and Lauren Christman. The UC Santa Barbara men's and women's squad joined the Cal Poly contingent and UC Irvine's Laura Olvera at the NCAA Championship.

The winter sports season featured overall improvement from both the men's and women's basketball programs. In men's basketball, the Big West captured its highest computer ranking in ten years when it finished 16th among the 31 Division I conferences. The Long Beach State men reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years.

The Big West's women's basketball computer rankings also saw a dramatic rise of five spots to 23rd nationally. UC Riverside represented the Big West women in the postseason for the second consecutive season.

Two swimmers captured All-America accolades at the NCAA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships as UC Santa Barbara senior Pat Cary earned the honor in the 200 fly, while UC Irvine junior Chelsea Nagata reached that status in the 100 fly. Cary later earned the honor of collegeswimming.com Mid-Major Swimmer of the Year.

The Big West generated more momentum in the spring sports season. In a year where the conference sent an all-time high 22 athletes to the 2007 NCAA Championships, the Big West claimed eight track and field All-Americans by the conclusion of the meet. Long Beach State's Brent Gray (200-meter dash) and Kim Heinz (javelin), UC Santa Barbara's Amy Haapenen (hammer), Stephanie Rothstein (10,000 meter run) and Eugene Bradley (hammer), Cal Poly's Sharon Day (high jump) and Aris Borjas (javelin), and Andrews of Cal State Northridge were the representatives.

In women's tennis, two teams (Long Beach State and UC Irvine) represented the Big West Conference in the NCAA tournament for the first time ever. The 49ers reached the NCAA's for the fourth consecutive year while the Anteaters gained the Big West's first-ever at-large bid. UCI's Mike Edles was recognized as the Wilson/ITA West Region Coach of the Year. On the men's side, UC Santa Barbara made its second straight postseason appearance. Gaucho freshman Philip Therp also competed in the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championship.

In women's golf, UC Irvine's team finished 19th in the NCAA championship. Also, Long Beach State junior Kay Hoey earned second team All-America honors and participated in the NCAA's for the second time in her career. The UCI men's golf team qualified for NCAA regional play for the sixth time in seven years.

Five Big West teams (Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, UC Santa Barbara, and Pacific) advanced to the NCAA Tournament in softball. Only three conferences, the Pac-10, the Southeastern, and the Big 12 placed more teams into the tournament. The five berths ranked second all-time in conference history, behind only the six awarded in 1992. Cal State Fullerton's Titans won their regional tournament in Columbus, Ohio, to advance to the Super Regionals, where they fell to eventual national champion Arizona. The Mustangs captured their first Big West softball championship, and with it, their first NCAA Tournament bid. The Big West also extended its streak of having at least one All-America selection as three players earned the distinction in 2007 - Cal Poly's Lisa Modglin, and Pacific's Gina Carbonatto and Jennifer Curtier.

Finally, in baseball the Big West was represented by four teams in the national tournament when UC Riverside and Long Beach State joined the Anteaters and Titans. The four postseason representatives were the most for the conference since having four entries in 1996. A record 43 players were also drafted by major league clubs in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft. And, UCI's Dave Serrano was honored as National Coach of the Year by Baseball America. In addition to the representation at the CWS, 14 Big West student-athletes earned All-America honors.

In all, 24 Big West teams and 37 (22 track, 7 men's swimming, 5 women's swimming, 1 women's cross country, 1 women's tennis, 1 women's golf) individual athletes participated in NCAA postseason play this past season. Of those 37 athletes, 11 earned All-America status. As a whole (round robin and individual sports), the Big West had 38 All-Americans in 11 sports. In addition to two National Coaches of the Year (Vom Steeg and Serrano), four other individuals were named West Region or West District Coaches of the Year (UCI's George Kuntz/Men's Soccer, UCSB's Pete Dolan/Men's Cross Country, UCI's Mike Edles/Women's Tennis and CSUN's Don Strametz/Men's Track and Field).

THE BEGINNING
The Big West Conference was formed as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association on July 1, 1969. However, the unofficial history of the conference pre-dates that point of time, extending back to 1967.

Cal State LA, Fresno State, Long Beach State and San Diego State were members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, long recognized as the nation's premier college circuit.

That conference was classified college division, and therein lay a major source of dissatisfaction. Since 1963, the four institutions had captured 16 national titles. The number swelled to 21 if the mythical football championships were included.

With no more territory to conquer at the college division, a step up to university ranks had to be considered.

At the time, San Jose State, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific were members of the West Coast Athletic Conference but were enduring a strained relationship due to the limit of conference sports sponsored. That, plus the fact that national football figures PAC and SJSU were already competing as independents, led the schools to pursue a more broad-based conference alignment.

Therefore, officials of the seven colleges and universities assembled as a body in May of 1969, tied up loose ends and less than two months later the PCAA was born.

Direction in the early days of the conference came from such men as Dr. Stephen Goodspeed, vice-chancellor at UC Santa Barbara, the first president and chairman of the founders committee. J. Kenneth Fagans provided guidance as the league's first commissioner. Jesse T. Hill, one of the nation's most successful directors of athletics at USC, followed Fagans as the conference's first full-time commissioner.

SJSU was already labeled a university division school in all sports when the PCAA emerged. San Diego State and Pacific were granted university division status in the summer of 1970 and the remaining conference members shed the college division moniker by 1972.

The original PCAA lineup changed in the early years and by 1975, charter members UCSB and CSLA had dropped football and SDSU left the conference in football only. In 1974, Cal State Fullerton moved into the conference. By 1977, UC Irvine joined the Big West and UCSB was back in - both as non-football playing institutions - while Utah State became the first non-California member of the circuit, transforming the PCAA into a regional conference.

UNLV (1981) and New Mexico State (1984) soon followed suit, bringing the league's membership to 10 universities.

In the fall of 1983, the PCAA became the first western conference to incorporate women's athletic programs into the conference. Charter women's members UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and UNLV competed in five championships.

By the end of 1985, Pacific, Hawai'i, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, San Diego State, Fresno State and San Jose State had joined the women's conference. The PCAA upped its women's sponsorship to eight championships.

The PCAA began its 20th year of existence in 1988 by changing its name to the Big West Conference. With the inclusion of the states of Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico, the term -Big West- more accurately represented the conference. Since the name Big West has been used, conference teams have won nine NCAA team championships, establishing the Big West's winning identity that is recognized nationally. Even though the Big West is again an all-California conference, the name Big West still embodies the identity, history, and tradition of excellence the conference has achieved, making it a well-known entity in collegiate athletics.