More shakeup in conferences don’t know if there is a better topic to post this too. But so many moves hard to keep up
This spells the End of the GCC
I was just talking with a friend about this and I am inclined to agree; the GCC won’t be around for much longer when a majority of teams in it have enough for the WCC to sponsor women’s water polo.
curious how things will go if the Big West will extend invites to teams or if there’s some sort of angle that WCC teams take
Just wondering
West Coast Conference MWP
Davis
SJSU
Air Force
LMU
Pepperdine
Pacific
Saint Marys
Santa Clara
UCSB (Big West)
Cal Baptist
West Coast Conference WWP (If they create it)
SJSU (GCC)
LMU (GCC)
Pacific (GCC)
Saint Marys (GCC)
Santa Clara (GCC)
UCSB (Big West)
Cal Baptist (BWC)
UCSD (BWC)
Gold Coast Conference WWP
Fresno State
San Diego State
UC Davis (from BWC 2027)
Big West Conference WWP
Hawaii
LBSU
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
CSUN
Fullerton
If this happens, the GCC is dead. Fresno State and San Diego State to the BWC, UC Davis is the outlier here as they recently just divorced from the BWC, I doubt the BWC is going to welcome them back. Davis to the MPSF? (Hat tip to the person I texted tonight as we bantered this back and forth).
I would imagine Davis gets a chance to be an affiliate due to the WCC accepting UC Davis as an affiliate on the men’s side. I was convinced since Hawaii had other sports (including water polo) remain BW affiliates that Davis would do the same but alas
long term I wouldn’t know how viable that still is. Mind you, Cal Baptist is moving to the Big West as full institutional members but they also lose UC San Diego too. SD and SB will begin competing in the WCC come 2027-28
Will CBU stay in the BW when it’s just a bunch of Cal States?
Fullerton, LB, Bakersfield, Northridge
Gotta think UCI will follow UCSD and UCSB over to the WCC.
Thank you,
I forgot about the men’s affiliation.
I could see UC Davis going to the MPSF. Rumors of Indiana going back to the CWPA are out there creating a spot.
There’s already a spot with San Jose State leaving
A long time ago, CWPA teams weren’t the biggest fans of Michigan and Indiana both being in the CWPA due to the fact that they’re from Power 4 schools. There’s obviously been a shift when it comes to most recent programs winning it all but I think Indiana moving back would only be possible if the Ivy Leagues said yes to it
I think the Mens WCC was formed as a response to the Big West getting 6 with Fullerton adding, that dissolved the GCC.
The 4 remaining WCC schools had the option of joining the MPSF or getting AF and Davis to join to create the WCC. A bit different as the WCC needed Davis
Correct, when the Big West sponsored men’s water polo through Fullerton adding a program, it effected schools in the WWPA (Davis, UCSD, and CBU were still in the WWPA at the time) and the GCC.
By combing both losses there for a 7 team conference which a lot of press releases credit UOP Admin for engineering. Now that CBU is officially joining BW and Davis was leaving it made sense for the two teams to make a switcheroo.
Now I don’t know how many people were expecting Saint Mary’s to add men’s and women’s water polo, but with Gonzaga leaving for the new PAC-12, the league office needed some big names to keep SMC. Two UCs is a good starting point which of course circles back to women’s GCC and the sustainability of that conference.
if I were someone high up in Athletic Admin who could be close with Dan Butterly, I would tell him to talk to Fresno and San Diego about affiliate status to keep water polo afloat
For mens wont the Big West be in danger of not having enough teams to have an auto qualifying spot for NCAA in 2027?