When UC Davis announced on Dec. 10 that it will be exiting the Big West Conference to join the Mountain West Conference beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, it was a warning for the rest of the conference.
UC Davis has been a member of the Big West since 2007, following three years without conference affiliation as the school transitioned from Division II to Division I. However, their time in Division I will be nine years younger than the conference they will be joining.
On the surface, it makes sense for UC Davis to make such a move. However, from the size of the Mountain West, to the teams which are departing the new conference and to the sport not joining it at all, joining the Mountain West does not make a lot of sense.
Now with nine members remaining, despite the conference only needing six members, the Big West has to make sure that they do not lose many more members. For certain sports such as beach volleyball, one more school to leave would cause the whole conference to collapse for that sport if they find another conference that sponsors the sport.
As for the Aggies, they are just the next team to be affected by the current conference realignment seen across the nation. Five teams currently in the Mountain West will not longer be in the conference as they are joining the Pac-12. The football powerhouse Boise State, basketball San Diego State University, California State University, Fresno, Colorado State University and Utah State University are departing.
With its new membership in the Colorado-based conference, the Aggies will gain two closer geographic conference members: San Jose State University and the University of Nevada, Reno. One of the reasons which made the Big West less desirable for the Aggies is the lack of a close geographic partner. Prior to 2013, the University of the Pacific competed in the Big West conference and is around 60 miles away, compared to the current 284 to their nearest Big West member.
“We are thrilled to join the Mountain West Conference, and we look forward to an incredible experience for our student-athletes and our fans,” Chancellor Gary May said in a press release on UC Davis’ website.
As the Aggies depart, the Big West will become primarily a Southern California conference, with the northernmost school being California State University, Bakersfield. As of now the conference will also only contain University of California and California State University schools.
For certain sports, such as baseball, Davis’ competition will look a little easier, as the Aggies had a tough time in Big West play last season, finishing with a 13-17 conference record. The Aggies’ softball team — a sport UC Irvine does not sponsor — will also get a break from the tough play in the Big West, having finished 12-15 in conference play last season. In basketball, however, the Aggies will join a stronger conference, which will help the emerging power. Currently, their women’s basketball team is 3-0 in Big West play this season, while the men are 2-1.
The move does raise interesting questions for the Aggies’ beach volleyball team. Currently the Mountain West does not sponsor the sport, and with only five schools offering it, Davis will need to find somewhere else to house their team.
UC Davis has expressed interest in keeping the team as an affiliate member of the Big West. However, it will be up to the remaining Big West members to decide, as the conference will still have six teams sponsoring the sport.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the move will be the women’s gymnastics team, which will join the Mountain West rather than the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), where they had been competing. The MPSF conference championship is being held in Alaska this year.
Davis’ tennis teams will also move to the Mountain West. Both teams reached the Big West semifinals last season.
The outdoor track and field teams may face challenges adjusting; they finished seventh in the Big West last season.
The Aggies will encounter tougher competition in cross country, with the Big West’s second-best women’s team and third-best men’s team this season now competing against national championship contenders.
UC Davis’ equestrian and field hockey teams — neither of which UC Irvine sponsors — will remain in their current conferences.
A major point of discussion is that the Aggies’ football team will not join the Mountain West. UC Davis is currently part of the Big Sky Conference and qualified for the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, where it fell to South Dakota 35-21.
To join the Mountain West for football, UC Davis would need to make the jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision, which could happen in the future, but UC Davis Health Stadium would first need to be expanded from its current capacity of 10,367. The smallest stadium for a team playing football in the Mountain West Conference in 2026 holds 15,000. Additionally, UC Davis or the Mountain West would need to pay $5 million for the school to move to the nation’s highest collegiate football subdivision.
The only way this conference affiliation move makes sense is if the school moves up to the Football Bowl Subdivision. The school is not a national contender in any other sport which the Mountain West is known for and the Big West provides the school balanced matchups compared to what may be a few tough first years in the Mountain West. Grand Canyon University is also another school joining the Mountain West and it will be the only school without any level of intercollegiate football in the conference, however it has a proven men’s basketball team which made it to the Round of 32 in last year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Both golf teams will also join the Mountain West. Last season, the women’s team finished fourth in the Big West and the men’s team finished fifth.
Davis’ women’s lacrosse team — another sport UC Irvine does not sponsor — will remain in the Big 12 despite the conference affiliation change.
In soccer, the women’s team, a 2024 Big West Championship semifinalist, will be just fine, as all Mountain West schools offer the sport. However, the men’s team, which reached the NCAA Round of 48, will either need to to remain a Big West affiliate or join another conference.
Another team departing the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is the women’s indoor track team, who will be joining the Mountain West.
The women’s volleyball team will join what has become a political hotbed of a conference and leave the Big West, where it reached the conference semifinals this year.
Finally, the men’s water polo team, which reached the Big West semifinals this year, faces an uncertain future. The team could remain in the Big West or move to another conference, possibly the West Coast Conference, where fellow Mountain West member Air Force is present. This is likely the only sport the Big West would like to keep the Aggies in, as losing them would require a new team to join.
UC Davis’ women’s water polo team, which fell in the Big West quaterfinals last season, will also need a new home if the Big West does not allow them to remain as an affiliate. With seven other schools sponsoring the sport in the conference, the Aggies may need to find a different conference.
The affiliation change for UC Davis makes no sense if there is no path forward for their football team to join the conference. While the look of closer conference members may look good on paper, the new farthest ones are much further than the current furthest. Gone are the times of competing with sister UC schools in California dominated sports such as water polo, all for a hope of more prestige and revenue.
Jack Fedor is a Sports Editor. He can be reached at jfedor@uci.edu.
Edited by Benjamin Flores and Jaheem Conley.
