The West Coast Conference announced today the addition of UC San Diego. The Tritons will begin as a competing member July 1, 2027.

The West Coast Conference Presidents’ Council voted to admit UC San Diego as a member of the Conference. The addition of UC San Diego expands the West Coast Conference to 10 competing league members beginning in the 2027-28 academic year.

“This is a monumental day for the West Coast Conference,” said University of the Pacific President and Chair of the West Coast Conference Presidents’ Council, Christopher Callahan. “Under the leadership of Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, UC San Diego is a thriving institution and its recent transition to NCAA Division I competition is a national success story. I applaud Commissioner Stu Jackson, the Presidents’ Council and University of San Diego President James T. Harris for their outstanding efforts to identify expansion opportunities that bring great value and further position the West Coast Conference as a premier league.”

With UC San Diego, the West Coast Conference further cements its footprint in the state of California with eight members and is the only NCAA Division I conference to have a member institution represented in each of the western region’s largest metropolitan cities and media markets in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Sacramento, Portland and San Diego. The addition of UC San Diego provides another easily accessible conference matchup.

“We continually identify valuable opportunities to expand our membership, and the addition of UC San Diego greatly aligns with the goals of the West Coast Conference,” said West Coast Conference Commissioner Stu Jackson. “UC San Diego’s meteoric rise during its recent NCAA Division I transition is the result of strong leadership, strategic investment and deliberate planning for postseason success. The Tritons align with our West Coast identity and serve to strengthen the academic profile of the conference. I appreciate the Presidents’ Council’s thorough evaluation of expansion opportunities and unified direction with the addition of UC San Diego.”

UC San Diego will compete in 14 of the West Coast Conference’s 16 sponsored sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s water polo, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s golf and women’s rowing.

Founded in 1960, UC San Diego is part of the University of California system, one of the nation’s leading public university systems. It is the sixth public institution to be a part of the West Coast Conference in its 73-year history. UC San Diego is regarded as the 21st best university in the world and the nation’s fifth best public university by U.S. News and World Report in its latest list of Best Global Universities.