Why UCSB joined the WCC, and what comes next

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Real quick before we start…you might have seen that yesterday, we announced a massive update to Extra Points Library. To help everybody (including folks who aren’t currently EPL customers) better understand the new tools and features, I’m running a free demo on Thursday to walkthrough the product.

If you’d like to attend, you can RSVP here. Or check out Library here.

Back in September, the WCC held a triumphant press conference to announce their latest addition, UC San Diego. While most of the press conference centered on celebrating their new addition (which, seeing as UCSD had just made the NCAA Tournament in Men’s and Women’s basketball, was deserved), WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson also shared some thinking about potential other additions to the league.

Via my story from September:

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As far as adding any new members, WCC commissioner Stu Jackson said that the criteria the league uses to evaluate new members are based on “academic performance, athletic performance, geography, and a commitment to student-athlete wellness.”

I asked if the league anticipated making any other realignment decisions in the near future. “We’ve stated publicly over the past year and a half that our Presidents’ Council is committed to adding potentially one to three institutions to our nine-member conference,” Jackson said. “Hearing that commitment, the timing of that, we just don’t know if it were to happen or when it would happen. It will only happen if an institution makes sense for the West Coast Conference and vice versa.”

For what it’s worth, my industry sources are telling me the WCC is very interested in potentially adding other schools from the Big West, like UC Irvine or UC Santa Barbara. I have not heard anything about WCC interest in the Big West’s new incoming additions, Cal Baptist or Utah Valley.

Well, I was hearing correctly. Last Friday, multiple other reporters shared that UC Santa Barbara would also leave the Big West to join the WCC. On Monday, the league held a press conference, confirming the news.

UCSB athletic director Kelly Barsky and university chancellor Dennis Assanis both pointed to the move as part of a holistic, university-wide effort to enhance the profile of the school, a highly regarded research institution, outside of just California. “We have a story we want to share with the world,” Dr. Assanis said, and joining a league that has historically competed for multiple NCAA Tournament bids, and has membership in markets like Denver and Portland would help the school share that story.

With the addition of the Gauchos, who are slated to join the league in 2027, the WCC will now have 12 schools: UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Denver, Seattle, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Diego, Saint Mary’s, Portland, Pepperdine, Pacific and Loyola Marymount. But could the league get even bigger?

Said Jackson, “

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“… Being a nine-member conference leaves a conference vulnerable and susceptible to not only financial disadvantages but also instability. It became the aggressive mandate of our presidents to grow our conference to 12 members. We proceeded to do so. Fortunately, we are here today at our 12th member, and we feel comfortable where we are now. Everything's on the table, but I can tell you confidently in the foreseeable future, I don't see us going beyond 12 members. We have UCSB coming into the conference in 2027. Let's stabilize and see who we are going to be going forward. After that, we'll make some decisions.

Jackson also noted something else about the league’s approach to conference realignment that I think fans (and ADs) should pay close attention to…