With continued conference realignment chaos, especially in the western United States, the MPSF has once again shown its value. The conference will welcome seven programs to its conference swimming & diving scene, lifting it to a record 24 teams for the 2027 conference championship meet – 16 women and 8 men.
The previous high for swimming & diving membership was during the 2011-12 season, which featured 19 teams.
The new MPSF schools are St. Mary’s College in California, CSU Bakersfield, Seattle University, UC San Diego, UCSB, the University of Denver, and the University of San Diego.
Of those programs, all are co-ed aside from San Diego, which sponsors a women’s-only team.
St. Mary’s College will launch its inaugural season of varsity swimming & diving next season.
This is the third stint for CSUB in the MPSF, after previously participating in 2011-2013 and 2022-2024. They won the inaugural men’s swimming & diving championship in 2011.
Other schools with MPSF history include UC San Diego (2019-2024), whose women won the 2022 title; UCSB (men 2015-2024, women 2011-2024) with two men’s titles in 2017 and 2018; Denver (men 2013); Seattle (men 2011-2013; women 2011-2012); and San Diego (women 2011-2025).
The San Diego women have been in the MPSF since its founding with the exception of last season.
The new members of the MPSF are mostly split between the Big West Conference and the West Coast Conference, with two schools (UCSD and UCSB) slated to move from the Big West to the WCC in 2027-2028. While there is some reasoning behind the stability of just staying in the MPSF, the West Coast Conference will have many college swimming & diving programs for the season-after-next and could launch its own championship.
The MPSF has become even more valuable since Foti Mellis was hired in 2021 amid high conference turnover. Under his watch, the conference has added 87 teams from 42 schools and eight sports.
It is now one of three NCAA Division I college swimming & diving conferences that operate primarily in the western U.S., along with the Mountain West and the Pac-12 (presumed).
With new automatic qualifiers in swimming & diving, a mega-conference does present challenges. Last season, 7 MPSF swimmers had automatic qualifications for the NCAA Championships:
| Swimmer Name | School | Conference | Event | Time | 2025 Invite Time |
| Maria Erokhina | Northern Colorado | MPSF | W. 100 Breast | 59.96 | 59.51 |
| Bryson Huey | UNLV | MPSF | M. 50 Free | 19.2 | 19.02 |
| Simon Casey | Wyoming | MPSF | M. 200 Free | 1:33.80 | 1:32.27 |
| Alexander Metzler | Wyoming | MPSF | M. 500 Free | 4:16.20 | 4:14.13 |
| Tanner Wilson | Air Force | MPSF | M. 100 Breast | 52.19 | 51.58 |
| James Winterfield | Air Force | MPSF | M. 100 Fly | 46.06 | 45.12 |
| Jackson Kogler | Wyoming | MPSF | M. 200 IM | 1:43.70 | 1:42.65 |
The new schools include more auto qualifiers, including some in overlapping events like the men’s 100 fly:
| Swimmer Name | School | Conference | Event | Time | 2025 Invite Time |
| Asia Kozan | UC San Diego | Big West | W. 200 Free | 1:45.52 | 1:44.74 |
| Chloe Braun | UC San Diego | Big West | W. 100 Breast | 58.95 | 59.51 |
| Samantha Banos | UCSB | Big West | W. 200 Fly | 1:56.44 | 1:55.82 |
| Eva Boehlke | UC San Diego | Big West | W. 200 IM | 1:57.43 | 1:56.69 |
| Nicholas Rounds | USD | Summit League | M. 50 Free | 19.15 | 19.02 |
| Alexander Parkinson | USD | Summit League | M. 1650 Free | 15:04.40 | 14:48.80 |
| Vili Sivec | CSUB | Big West | M. 100 Fly | 45.91 | 45.12 |
2026-2027 MPSF Field
Women
| 2026 Rank | School | 2026 Points |
| 1 | Northern Arizona University | 1350 |
| 2 | New Mexico State University | 1227 |
| 3 | Northern Colorado, University | 1171.5 |
| 4 | Cal Baptist University | 980.5 |
| 5 | Idaho, University of | 942 |
| 6 | Pepperdine University | 610 |
| 7 | Utah Tech University | 604 |
| 8 | University of the Pacific | 431 |
| 9 | University of Incarnate Word | 420.5 |
| 10 | Univ Texas Rio Grande Valley | 271.5 |
| New | St. Mary’s College | New |
| New | CSU Bakersfield | New |
| New | Seattle | New |
| New | UCSD | New |
| New | UCSB | New |
| New | Denver | New |
| New | San Diego | New |
Men
| Rank | School | Points |
| 1 | US Air Force Academy | 819.5 |
| 2 | University of Nevada Las Vegas | 769.5 |
| 3 | University of Wyoming | 726 |
| 4 | Cal Baptist University | 510 |
| 5 | University of the Pacific | 287 |
| 6 | University of Incarnate Word | 195 |
| New | St. Mary’s College | New |
| New | CSU Bakersfield | New |
| New | Seattle | New |
| New | UCSD | New |
| New | UCSB | New |
| New | Denver | New |
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT JOINING MPSF SWIMMING & DIVING
“We’re excited to rejoin the MPSF for swimming and diving. The conference offers a strong level of competition that will help our student-athletes continue to grow and compete at a high level. It’s a great fit for our program, and a positive step for the swimmers and divers who put in the work every day to represent CSUB.”
-Dr. Sarah Tuohy, CSU Bakersfield Director of Athletics
“We are thrilled to join the MPSF as we begin a new era for CSUB Swimming & Diving. The MPSF provides a highly-competitive platform for our student-athletes and creates an opportunity for them to challenge themselves at a high level while continuing to raise the standard within our program. We are excited for the opportunities this partnership will create for our team, our university, and the future of CSUB Swimming & Diving.”
-Shane Pelton. CSU Bakersfield Head Coach
“We’re thrilled to join the MPSF in men’s and women’s swimming and diving next season. I’d like to thank the conference for helping us find a great home for our student-athletes and thank both of our programs for their patience while we found them an appropriate spot to continue to compete for championships while several of our other athletic programs make the transition to the West Coast Conference this summer. I’m excited for the future of our swimming and diving programs.”
-Josh Berlo, University of Denver Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Ritchie Center Operations
“Our program is very excited to be able to compete in the MPSF next season. It will provide a greater level of competition that will push our student-athletes to perform at higher levels as they strive to earn qualifying times for the national championships. I’d like to thank Josh Berlo and the University’s leadership for finding our program a great home for our program to be able to continue to compete for championships.”
–Alicia Hicken-Franklin, University of Denver Head Coach
“We are very excited and grateful to be joining the MPSF for the 2026-27 school year. They have been running great swimming championships for years, and we look forward to being a part of what will be one of the largest and most competitive D-I championship meets in the country next winter. It has been a roller coaster of conference realignment among swim programs in the western part of the country the past couple years, but we along with all other WCC swim teams are thrilled to be a part of the MPSF for this coming season.”
-Joe Dykstra, Seattle University Head Coach
“I want to express my gratitude to MPSF and Commissioner Foti Mellis for opening the door and providing our team with the opportunity to compete in the conference championship, which is eligible for NCAA qualification.
We have cherished memories from MPSF, particularly since our women’s team achieved its first-ever UCSD D-I championship in 2022. We are thrilled about the upcoming championship.”
-Marko Djordjevic, UC San Diego Head Coach
“Being back in the MPSF will be an exciting opportunity for our program. The conference is deep, talented, and highly competitive, which will challenge us to continue raising our standards. I look forward to seeing how many personal-bests we achieve, the memories we create together, and the NCAA qualifiers and all-conference performances that emerge along the way.”
-Jaclyn Rosen, UCSB Head Coach
“We’re excited to rejoin the MPSF ahead of the 2026-2027 season. Our Torero swimming and diving program has a long history in the MPSF, and returning was a natural fit for us. We’re especially appreciative of Commissioner Mellis and his staff for providing us with the opportunity to continue competing in the MPSF and beyond.”
– Kimya Massey, University of San Diego Associate Vice President/Executive Director of Athletics
“We are excited and appreciative to be rejoining the MPSF this season. With the addition of several new teams to complement the existing membership, the conference will be very competitive with depth throughout all scoring opportunities.”
– Mike Keeler, University of San Diego Swimming and Diving Head Coach
You need to change the wording under the caption it says 16 men’s and 8 women’s.