Big West Discontinues Sponsorship of Swimming and Diving
The Big West Conference earlier this month discontinued its championships sponsorship of swimming and diving.
The Big West added the sport for the 2024-25 season, and the experiment ends after two seasons.
The announcement was made after the April 30 Big West Board of Directors meeting, as part of a “broader review of sport sponsorship and future membership composition.” The decision is effective July 1, 2026.
From the statement:
This decision followed careful evaluation of NCAA Championship participation requirements and anticipated membership composition, which indicated The Big West would no longer meet the minimum institutional threshold required to maintain conference eligibility tied to NCAA Championship automatic qualification opportunities in the sport.
“While this was a difficult decision, it was also a responsible one,” Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly said. “Our priority is ensuring that student-athletes and programs have clear, stable pathways to meaningful competitive opportunities. Acting now allows institutions to transition to leagues where they can maintain NCAA Championship automatic qualification access and continue to thrive.”
Seven women’s teams participated in the Big West Championships last year, with six in the men’s version. The women’s teams included Hawaii, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, the University of San Diego, Cal State Bakersfield and Seattle University.
The men’s field included Hawaii, Grand Canyon University, UC San Diego, UCSB, CSUB and Seattle.
Of those institutions, Hawaii, Bakersfield, Davis, Santa Barbara and UC San Diego are among the Big West’s 11 full member institutions. The rest had entered in partnerships to swim in the conference after changes in the volcanic conference landscape.
The conference said it has “actively supported impacted institutions in identifying new conference homes that provide continued access to conference-based NCAA Championship qualification opportunities, including coordination with partner leagues such as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Pac-12 Conference.”
