Talk:Pacific Coast Athletic Association

if the PCAA changed its name to Big West Conference we should merge the pages under Big West ConferenceSmith03 05:49, 15 October 2005 (UTC)
 * ALthough I am not absolutely certain, I recall that the change was not a simple name change, rather it was a fundamental change in structure which resulted in the PCAA disbanding and a new conference being formed from a few of the remaining members. Perhaps someone could find us some information on the Big West Conference website which we could link to for further information on this subject? Streltzer 22:43, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

from www.bigwest.org/history The league considers the PCAA/BW as the same

About the Big West Conference The Big West Conference enters the 2006-07 season with yet another milestone  the 38th year of Big West existence marks a historic return to its roots as an all-California member conference. For the past 30 years, eight different schools from six different states have joined the Big West family and represented the conference proudly, but separated the Big West from obtaining its original mission of providing a competitive athletic conference for institutions in the great state of California. In 2005-06, what was a dream nearly four decades ago is now a reality  the Big West is the California conference.

The Big West Conference is not only the home of competitive athletics; it is also the home to prestigious California institutions that are at the forefront of academic success. The Big West is now the governing body for eight California member schools that will compete in 17 sports this season. The Big West hosts a dynamic blend of schools from the University of California system and the California State University system, and a private institution that includes: Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and Pacific.

Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara, and Pacific are the conferences longest tenured members, and are three of the original charter institutions. Long Beach State is the only school that has held membership every year in the conference since its inaugural season in 1969. Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine have both been Big West members for over three decades, with Cal Poly entering its ninth year of affiliation. Cal State Northridge and UC Riverside are the Big Wests most recent members, as the two schools joined the conference in 2001-02. The Big West is also set to add a ninth conference member with UC Davis coming aboard in the 2007-08 season.

Big West Success Found in all Sports The Big West rolls into the 2005-06 season fresh off a successful 2004-05 campaign that produced 32 All-Americans and 434 Academic All-Conference student-athletes. The conference includes nationally renowned athletes and programs in every sport, allowing the Big West to attain a high level of athletic and academic achievement each year.

Year-after-year, the Big West owns a reputation as one of the top conferences in the country in womens volleyball, and the 2004-05 season was no different. In womens volleyball, the Big West sent six teams to the 2004 NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year, joining the Pacific-10, the Big 12, and the Big Ten as the only conference with six or more representatives. UC Santa Barbara and Pacific also remained as only two of four teams in NCAA history to compete in all 24 womens volleyball NCAA Tournaments.

The Big West is also known nationally as a powerhouse in baseball, and added to its storied history last season. The 2004 national champion Cal State Fullerton Titans were ranked No. 1 in the nation for several weeks during the year, and surpassed the 45-win mark for the fifth time in six seasons. The conference had six teams finish with records above .500, and Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State both received No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The Big Wests long tradition of baseball excellence was also highlighted with a conference record 44 Big West baseball players selected in the 2005 Major League Draft, surpassing the previous high of 38 players chosen in 2001. Among the 44 draftees, the Big West had two players go in the first 10 picks for the first time since 1986.

In 2004-05, the Big West also remained on the national scene in the sports of mens and womens basketball, softball, and track and field. In mens basketball, the Big West sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993. Pacific earned the most national recognition in program history by posting a perfect 18-0 regular season conference record, becoming the first Big West team in 12 years to win NCAA Tournament games in consecutive seasons, and finishing the season ranked No. 22 in the nation after spending several weeks in the top 25 during the regular season.

In womens basketball, UC Santa Barbara continued its reign as a national contender by making its ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2005. UC Santa Barbara senior Kristin Mann was also selected with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2005 WNBA Draft, becoming the second highest selection of a Big West player in draft history. In softball, the Big West earned its 21st consecutive season of sending multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament, with Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton each advancing to regional championships.

Big West track and field ran, jumped, and threw itself into the national scene in 2005 by advancing 29 track and field athletes to the 2005 NCAA Championships, with six Big West athletes finishing in the top-10 in their respective events. Cal Polys Sharon Day was the conferences top finisher, as she won the womens high jump national championship. Day won the high jump event with a school and Big West record mark of 6-04.00, and became 13th athlete in Big West history to win a track and field national championship.

Although the Big West has been a permanent fixture to the national scene in baseball, womens volleyball, and basketball, the conference made a burst onto the national stage in mens soccer. For the first time in conference history, the Big West placed a team in the NCAA mens soccer College Cup championship match. The UC Santa Barbara mens soccer team made an impressive run to the 2004 College Cup, playing before a crowd of 13,601 in the championship. The Gauchos finished runner-up to 2004 champion Indiana after tying the Hoosiers 1-1 at the end of regulation and two overtime periods, and falling 3-2 in penalty kicks. Although the Gauchos came up short at claiming their first-ever College Cup, UC Santa Barbara was successful at bringing Big West mens soccer national recognition. The 2004 Gauchos held a No. 1 national ranking for much of the season, knocked off ACC power-house Duke in the College Cup semifinals, and finished the season with a record of 21-3-1.

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 UOP 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.

FROM THE PCAA TO THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE 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.

BIG WEST MEMBERSHIP School Season Joined Length of Membership Enrollment Cal Poly 1996-97 9 years 18,000 Cal St. Fullerton 1974-75 31 years 32,143 Cal St. Northridge 2001-02 4 years 32,596 Long Beach St. 1969-70 36 years 34,566 UC Irvine 1977-78 28 years 24,200 UC Riverside 2001-02 4 years 17,000 UC Santa Barbara 1969-70 and 76-77 34 years 19,080 Pacific 1971-72 34 years 6,000

BIGWEST.ORG 03:32, 2 December 2006 (UTC)