Pacific Coast Athletic Association
| Big West Conference | |
|---|---|
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| Established | 1969 |
| Association | NCAA |
| Division | Division I non-football |
| Members | 9 |
| Sports fielded | 18 (men's: 8; women's: 10) |
| Region | West Coast |
| Former names | Pacific Coast Athletic Association |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California |
| Commissioner | Dennis Farrell (since 1992) |
| Website | www |
| Locations | |
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The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed in 1969 as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) and in 1988 was renamed the Big West Conference. The conference stopped sponsoring college football after the 2000 season.
The Big West Conference was formed in June 1968 as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The 5 original charter members were Fresno State, San Jose State, UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State, and Long Beach State. Two other schools, Cal State Los Angeles and the University of the Pacific, were also considered but they declined at that time to pursue membership. The newly formed conference had a number of meetings to set up its governance, which was confirmed in October 1968 on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. Before the league started play, Cal State Los Angeles joined as a full member and the University of the Pacific joined for football only, becoming a full member itself two years later. The conference itself lists July 1, 1969 as the recognized creation date with the 7 institutions.
Since its inception as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, the conference has seen many changes. Utah State was the first institution outside of California to join the conference in 1978. This opened the floodgates for many other schools to affiliate with the PCAA; notable schools include UNLV, Nevada, Louisiana Tech, and Boise State.
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