California Baptist University (CBU) will join the Big West Conference beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, the conference announced Wednesday.
Cal Baptist, which sponsors 19 Division I athletic programs including men’s and women’s swimming & diving, currently resides in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
“The addition of California Baptist University marks a significant step forward for The Big West,” Commissioner Dan Butterly said. “CBU aligns with our mission of fostering competitive excellence, academic achievement and service within our communities. We are excited to welcome them and look forward to the talent, excitement and rivalries they will bring beginning July 1, 2026.”
Seventeen of CBU’s 19 D1 sports will compete in the Big West, including both swimming & diving programs.
The others will be baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s track & field, men’s and women’s water polo, and women’s volleyball. The two sports that won’t compete in the Big West are men’s wrestling (Big 12) and women’s STUNT (no conference championships).
The Big West revived the swimming & diving conference championships in 2025 for the first time since 2010, with UC Santa Barbara sweeping the team titles.
At the 2025 WAC Swimming & Diving Championships, the Cal Baptist men finished as the runner-ups, sitting just 26 points back of long-reigning champions UNLV, who won their fourth straight title.
The CBU women placed 4th at the conference meet, edging out 5th-place Idaho by just five points.
“Joining The Big West represents a pivotal moment for California Baptist University,” CBU President Ronald L. Ellis said. “This opportunity reflects our continued growth as an institution and our commitment to excellence in athletics, academics, and service. We look forward to making an impact in The Big West.”
Three of the four swimmers from the WAC who qualified for the 2025 NCAA Championships are from Cal Baptist: Sofia Maksimova, Rémi Fabiani and Mark Kovacsics.
The Big West will also add Grand Canyon, Seattle U and San Diego as affiliate swimming & diving members beginning next season.
CBU Athletic Director Micah Parker added: “This move provides an outstanding opportunity for our student-athletes to compete at the highest level while strengthening our regional presence. We appreciate The Big West’s leadership for recognizing the value CBU brings to the conference.”
The addition of Cal Baptist brings the Big West conference up to 10 full-time members in 2026-27. It will also make Riverside, Calif., the third U.S. city to have two NCAA Division I programs competing in the same conference, with CBU joining UC Riverside. Ther others are USC and UCLA (Big Ten) and LaSalle and Temple (Atlantic 10).
