Mountain West does NOT have Men's soccer. I think that it is coin flip for the Ags to join the WCC or stay in the Big West. I think we learn more before Labor Day.

With the announcement of the Women's Water Polo team moving to the Golden Coast Conference in 2026-27, the only UCD program currently remaining in the Big West is Men's Soccer.

The GCC will actually be a tough schedule - California Baptist, Fresno State, Loyola Marymount, University of the Pacific, San Diego State, San Jose State and Santa Clara. Only Azusa Pacific, a D2 school, might be a weak member.

I think that not offering both a men’s and a women’s team in sports like soccer and water polo is more likely linked tp Title IX. A sport like football creates an over-abundance of roster opportunities for men. There’s no comparable sport for women in terms of roster size. Schools have to otherwise cut back on men’s teams they may have the facilities for in order to equalize the opportunities. I think that’s why you see relatively fewer men’s volleyball and gymnastics programs at the college level.

Actually, looking at GCC standings over the last several years, Azusa Pacific generally holds its own. Surprisingly, Santa Clara is often at or neat the bottom of the conference.

Yolohw: You are right, many are Nor Cal and regular foes. The GGC is not as rugged as the Big West and will be an easier road to a conference title. Hawaii and UC Irvine have been a top 6 program often.

The MWC does not have waterpolo facilities, and with many of them having indoor pools there is NO chance of getting the facilities upgraded. The list of MWC with women's swimming is the following:
San San Diego State. outdoors has women's waterpolo GCC-NO men's swimming or Men's waterpolo
UNLV indoors NOT deep enough for polo has men's swimming
Nevada indoors NOT deep enough for polo NO men's swimming
Fresno State outdoors has women's waterpolo GCC NO men's swimming or men's waterpolo
Washington State indoors NOT deep enough for polo NO men's swimming
Wyoming 595 indoors NOT deep enough for polo has men's swimming
Colorado State indoors NOT deep enough polo NO men's swimming
Air Force indoors has men's water polo varsity club women and men's varsity swimming
New Mexico indoors NOT deep enough NO men's swimming or polo
San José State outdoors women's polo GCC, men's polo NO men's swimming

I don'y know if Title IX is necessarily a bigger factor, but I'm sure it's significant, when deciding what new sports to offer, or which to consider cutting.

Remember that baseball, not football, was known for decades as "the national pastime". I imagine all the MW schools have a long history of a baseball program...probably sons following fathers and grandfathers playing in the program. That's a strong support system for continuing baseball. And, like here in Montana where we have our summer cabin, baseball is still extremely popular. Lots of the low-level minor leagues are located in Midwest and Great Plains towns, and there's lots of semipro or town teams. So it's imbedded in the culture here.

Soccer is still a newbie in many areas. While popular, it doesn't have the history or the generations of people who have played the game. Even in CA, where our 7th grade granddaughter plays for a strong Sacramento area club, many of the parents are totally new to the game. Being a longtime residents of Davis, that still always surprises us.

Here in NW Montana, soccer has become quite popular, mostly due to the sustained success of the Montana WSOC team, which is usually at or near the top of the Big Sky Conference. But it has in no way diminished the support for local minor league and semipro baseball teams. And neither Montana, nor Montana State sponsor baseball, though Montana does has softball.

Add UCSD to the mix starting 27-28.

Ags and Tritons have had a great rivalry in men’s water polo.

And… UCSB will join alongside UCSD starting 27-28. That leaves UCI and UCR as the only UC’s in the Big West (UCR doesn’t have MWP) )

Losing UCD, UCSD and UCSB, but picking up Cal Baptist, leaves Big West men's water polo with four teams, and no NCAA auto-bid.

A little different for women's water polo. Lose UCD and gain Cal Baptist. Not sure what if anything is happening to UCSD, UCSB and Hawai'i since neither the MWC nor the WCC currenlty sponsor women's water polo.