UC Santa Barbara has accepted a formal invitation to join the West Coast Conference beginning July 1, 2027, the university announced Friday. The Gauchos will start competing in the WCC in the 2027–28 academic year in all sports the conference sponsors and will secure affiliate membership elsewhere for programs the WCC does not sponsor. UCSB previously competed in the WCC from 1965 to 1969.
“UC Santa Barbara is recognized as one of the nation’s leading public research universities… We are thrilled to join the West Coast Conference, creating broader exposure and visibility for our athletics and academic programs,” Chancellor Dennis Assanis said. “Sharing our story of success with new audiences will provide expanded opportunities for world-class academic and athletics experiences for our Gaucho community.”
“This is a transformative moment for UC Santa Barbara Athletics, one that will bring together and excite our campus and community,” added Kelly Barsky, The Arnhold Director of Athletics. “We are appreciative of the invitation from the West Coast Conference… We are grateful for our longstanding history with The Big West Conference, and as we enter into this new chapter both celebrate the history of our Gaucho programs as well as look forward to elevating our exposure, growing our programs and deepening our service to our student-athletes and community.”
With UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego joining, the WCC is slated to expand to 12 full members in 2027–28. UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego will be the first public institutions in the WCC since 1979. The league’s footprint includes programs such as Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Seattle.
“We are delighted and honored to welcome UC Santa Barbara into the West Coast Conference,” said Christopher Callahan, president of University of the Pacific and chair of the WCC Presidents’ Council. “UC Santa Barbara brings to the conference athletic excellence and superb academics while preserving our geographic profile, enabling our schools to stay true to the mission of providing superior student-athlete experiences in all of our sports.”
“This is a monumental moment for the West Coast Conference as we grow our membership to 12 institutions for the first time in our history and enhance our national profile with the addition of UC Santa Barbara,” WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson said. He cited the conference’s goals of strengthening competitive excellence and national exposure while focusing on an enriching student-athlete experience, and praised UCSB leadership for positioning the Gauchos “for success in today’s NCAA environment.”
UCSB will host a press conference Monday, April 13, at 11 a.m. in the Winnie and Lynn Reitnouer Auditorium on the first floor of the Intercollegiate Athletics Building.
A nationally ranked research university, UC Santa Barbara counts eight Nobel laureates among its alumni, faculty and researchers. Gaucho athletics has won two national championships and 188 conference titles, produced 16 Olympians and recently earned the 2024–25 Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association All-Sport Trophy. Founded in 1952, the West Coast Conference sponsors 16 sports and emphasizes integrity, respect, collaboration, innovation and inclusiveness across its member institutions.
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“UC Santa Barbara is recognized as one of the nation’s leading public research universities… We are thrilled to join the West Coast Conference, creating broader exposure and visibility for our athletics and academic programs,” Chancellor Dennis Assanis said. What an oxymoronic sentence evidencing the attempt by the new Chancellor’s attempt to pretzel this issue into something that a seat of education should concern it self with. Being in the WCC will have NO impact on the academic or educational mission of the school. It is about money and jocks. The UC system as a whole looses million’s of $ on athletic folly as it is so I assume UCSB is also in that category. Let’s use our tax money, tuition and other income to reduce the cost of education and increase the accessibility of our academic institutions.
Athletics have changed. The majority of athletes coming out of high schools are either scholar Athletes or have very high academic ability.
What a mindless thing to say.
RHS – why do you hate young people who master a craft so much? You treat student athletes with such disdain, it’s clear you’ve never been one, met one or have any idea how hard these young people work to achieve D1 level athletic abilities AND do the same amount of work as every other student.
The trope of the dumb high school jock does not extend into college. Go talk to a UCSB student athlete or even an SBCC athlete and ask them what they do each day. You’d be surprised at the level of commitment, dedication, skill and hard work college athletes at all levels put in. It’s FAR more than you think.
Wow…. looks like I touched a nerve with someone about the realities of college level student athletes. Simply asking why all the hate and trying to explain how hard they work.
Sounds like some soft folks don’t even like to be questioned about their anti-athlete discrimination.