Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Association | NCAA |
---|---|
Founded | 1992 |
Commissioner | Foti Mellis (since 2021) |
Sports fielded |
|
Division | Division I |
No. of teams | 38 |
Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
Region | Western United States, Southwestern United States, Southern United States, Northwestern United States |
Official website | www |
Locations | |
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the Western United States, although it has added members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I level, primarily in Olympic sports that are not sponsored by a school's primary conference (such as the Pac-12 and Big West, many of whose members participate in MPSF competition in at least one of its sports).
History
The MPSF was founded in 1992 to provide an outlet for competition in non-revenue-producing Olympic sports. The MPSF conducts championships in men's volleyball, as well as indoor track, gymnastics, and water polo for both men and women. In 2010 the MPSF added women's swimming and diving, and added those sports for men in the 2011–12 season. The 2012–13 school year was the last for MPSF competition in men's soccer, and the 2020–21 school year was the last for MPSF women's lacrosse.
The conference membership varies by sport; 39 schools are MPSF members in at least one of its sponsored sports. Schools are not required to participate in MPSF competition for a sponsored sport if their primary conference affiliation sponsors a competition in that sport (e.g. Pac-12 in soccer and women's gymnastics).
All MPSF members have a primary conference affiliation. All Big West Conference members house at least one sport in the MPSF. The West Coast Conference is represented by six schools (Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco). The Pac-12 Conference was represented by five (Arizona State, California, Stanford, UCLA, USC). Three conferences are represented by 2 schools: the Big 12 Conference (BYU, Oklahoma), the Mountain West Conference (Air Force and San Jose State), and the Western Athletic Conference (Grand Canyon and Southern Utah). Twelve conferences are represented by one school each – the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (Penn State Behrend), the Big Sky Conference (Sacramento State), the Big Ten Conference (Indiana), the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (Augustana (IL)), the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (Alaska Anchorage), the Lone Star Conference (Texas Woman's), the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (Wheaton (MA)), the Pacific West Conference (Concordia–Irvine), the Presidents' Athletic Conference (Washington & Jefferson), the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (Austin), and the Southland Conference (Incarnate Word).
All of the MPSF members from the Pac-12 left at the end of the 2023–24 school year, at which time the Big Ten is represented by three schools (adding UCLA and USC), and the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 are each be represented by two (ACC: California and Stanford; Big 12: adding Arizona State but losing Oklahoma). Also in 2024–25, the Pacific West representation will increase to four schools with the arrival of Jessup University Jessup, Menlo, and Vanguard while the Southeastern Conference will be represented by Oklahoma.
Due to the Big West addition of men's and women's swimming and diving as a sponsored sport beginning in the 2024-25 school year,[1] six Big West members will move their aquatics programs to their primary conference, including three members (Bakersfield, Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara) who were only MPSF members in aquatics and will thus effectively leave the MPSF.
Al Beaird was the first Executive Director of the MPSF for 24 years, from 1998 to 2021. Foti Mellis became the second executive director on June 1, 2021. Mellis was a Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of California.
Members
Source:[2]
Existing members
Future members
Institution | Location | Nickname | Primary conference |
Division |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jessup University | Rocklin, California | Warriors | PacWest | NCAA D-II |
Menlo College | Atherton, California | Oaks | ||
Vanguard University | Costa Mesa, California | Lions | PacWest | NCAA D-II |
Former members
- Notes
- ^ Current affiliation; does not necessarily match affiliation(s) during a school's MPSF tenure.
Sports
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation sponsors championship competition in five men's and five women's NCAA sanctioned sports[4] The MPSF dropped men's soccer after the 2012 season. The moves of Denver (all sports) and New Mexico (soccer only) to other conferences left the MPSF with six soccer members, but all six would soon leave due to moves by the Western Athletic Conference. MPSF soccer member Seattle was already in the WAC, and another MPSF soccer school, CSU Bakersfield, was already committed to join the WAC in 2013. Because the WAC dropped football after the 2012 season due to a near-complete membership turnover, it needed to add another men's sport to maintain its Division I status. To that end, it invited the four remaining MPSF soccer schools to join them; all accepted, and the WAC began sponsoring men's soccer in 2013–14.[5]
In October 2015, Arizona State announced that it would elevate its club team in women's lacrosse to full varsity status starting in the 2017–18 school year (2018 season), which will give the Pac-12 six women's lacrosse schools. This number is required by league bylaws for official sponsorship of a sport, and is also the number of teams required for a conference to be an automatic NCAA tournament qualifier. This led the Pac-12 to announce that all of its women's lacrosse teams would leave the MPSF for the new Pac-12 lacrosse league for the 2018 season. MPSF women's lacrosse continued to operate through the 2021 season, though it would lose its automatic NCAA tournament bid after the 2019 season.[6]
The next major change in conference membership came in January 2016, when the Golden Coast Conference, a water polo-only league that previously operated only a women's competition, announced it would add a men's division effective with the 2016–17 season. The GCC took six of the 10 members of the MPSF men's water polo league, leaving the MPSF with only the four Pac-12 members that sponsor the sport.[7]
On May 31, 2016, the Big West Conference announced that it would begin sponsoring men's volleyball in the 2017–18 school year (2018 season). The Big West men's volleyball league launched with full members Long Beach State, Cal State Northridge, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Hawai'i, plus associate member UC San Diego (which joined the Big West full-time in July 2020). UC San Diego left the federation with the launch of Big West men's volleyball, but the other Big West members remain in the MPSF in other sports.[8] California Baptist also exited the MPSF after dropping its only conference sport of men's volleyball shortly after the 2017 season, and Cal State Bakersfield (now being rebranded athletically as Bakersfield) left the MPSF after dropping its last remaining conference sport of women's water polo at the same time.[9]
It was announced in August 2021 that the MPSF would add men's and women's fencing to the conference as the tenth sport.[10]
It was announced in September 2021 that the MPSF would add women's artistic swimming to the conference as the eleventh sport.[11]
On November 9, 2023, the MPSF announced that it would add beach volleyball, a women-only sport at the NCAA level, for the 2025 season (2024–25 school year). The inaugural membership in that sport will consist mainly of schools that are leaving the Pac-12 Conference, which sponsors beach volleyball, after 2023–24: California, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Washington. The only member not coming from the Pac-12 is Grand Canyon.[12] The following month, the MPSF announced that Saint Mary's, which had been an MPSF member in women's lacrosse before the school dropped the sport in 2017, had returned to the conference in women's indoor track & field.[13]
Sport | Men's | Women's |
---|---|---|
Artistic Swimming | - | 4 |
Gymnastics | 4 | 4 |
Fencing | 3 | 3 |
Swimming & Diving | 2 | 4 |
Indoor Track & Field | 5 | 11 |
Volleyball | 7 | - |
Water polo | 8 | 7 |
Membership by sport
School | Artistic Swimming | Beach Volleyball | Fencing[a] | Men's Gymnastics | Women's Gymnastics | Men's Indoor Track & Field | Women's Indoor Track & Field | Men's Swimming & diving | Women's Swimming & diving | Men's Volleyball | Men's Water Polo | Women's Water Polo | Total MPSF Sports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Air Force | 2 | ||||||||||||
Alaska Anchorage | 1 | ||||||||||||
Arizona State | 1 | ||||||||||||
Augustana (IL) | 1 | ||||||||||||
Austin | 1 | ||||||||||||
BYU | 1 | ||||||||||||
Cal State Fullerton | 2 | ||||||||||||
Cal State Northridge | 2 | ||||||||||||
California | 4 | ||||||||||||
Concordia–Irvine | 1 | ||||||||||||
Grand Canyon | 2 | ||||||||||||
Hawaii | 1 | ||||||||||||
Incarnate Word | 4 | ||||||||||||
Indiana | 1 | ||||||||||||
Long Beach State | 2 | ||||||||||||
Oklahoma | 1 | ||||||||||||
Oregon | 1 | ||||||||||||
Pacific | 2 | ||||||||||||
Penn State Behrend | 1 | ||||||||||||
Pepperdine | 3 | ||||||||||||
Portland | 2 | ||||||||||||
Sacramento State | 1 | ||||||||||||
Saint Mary's | 1 | ||||||||||||
San Diego | 1 | ||||||||||||
San Francisco | 1 | ||||||||||||
San Jose State | 1 | ||||||||||||
Southern California | 4 | ||||||||||||
Southern Utah | 1 | ||||||||||||
Stanford | 6 | ||||||||||||
Texas Woman's | 1 | ||||||||||||
UC Davis | 2 | ||||||||||||
UC Irvine | 1 | ||||||||||||
UCLA | 4 | ||||||||||||
UC Riverside | 2 | ||||||||||||
UC San Diego | 1 | ||||||||||||
Washington | 1 | ||||||||||||
Washington & Jefferson | 1 | ||||||||||||
Wheaton (MA) | 1 | ||||||||||||
Totals | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
- ^ Coed sport.
Aquatics
There are three sports that are sponsored under the aquatics section. Men's and women's swimming and diving were launched in the 2010-11 season. Artistic swimming was later added in the 2021-22 season.
In June 2023, the Big West announced the addition of men's and women's swimming and diving as a sponsored sport beginning in the 2024-25 school year.[1] As a result, six Big West members will move their aquatics programs to their primary conference, including three members (Bakersfield, Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara) who were only MPSF members in aquatics and will thus effectively leave the MPSF.
Current members
Institution | Location | Nickname | Artistic | Men | Women | Primary conference |
Joined |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of the Incarnate Word | San Antonio, Texas | Cardinals | Southland | 2021 (A) 2022 (M/W) | |||
University of the Pacific | Stockton, California | Tigers | WCC | 2010 (M/W) | |||
Pepperdine University | Malibu, California | Waves | WCC | 2023 | |||
University of San Diego | San Diego, California | Toreros | WCC | 2010 | |||
Stanford University | Stanford, California | Cardinal | ACC | 2021 | |||
Texas Woman's University | Denton, Texas | Pioneers | Lone Star | 2021 | |||
Wheaton College (MA) | Norton, Massachusetts | Lyons | NEWMAC | 2021 |
Former members
Timeline
All aquatic sports Men's & women's swimming & diving Women's swimming & diving Men's swimming & diving Artistic swimming
Conference Champions
Year | Men | Women |
---|---|---|
2010–11 | CSU Bakersfield | UC Davis |
2011–12 | Brigham Young | Brigham Young |
2012–13 | UNLV | UC Davis |
2013–14 | Brigham Young | |
2014–15 | Hawaii | |
2015–16 | UC Davis | |
2016–17 | UC Santa Barbara | Hawaii |
2017–18 | ||
2018–19 | Hawaii | |
2019–20 | ||
2020–21 | Brigham Young | |
2021–22 | UC San Diego | |
2022–23 | Hawaii |
Fencing
Fencing was introduced as an MPSF sport in the 2021-22 season.
Current members
The MPSF currently has three members that participate in fencing.
Institution | Location | Nickname | Primary conference |
Joined |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States Air Force Academy | USAF Academy, Colorado | Falcons | Mountain West | 2021 |
University of California, San Diego | La Jolla, California | Tritons | Big West | |
University of the Incarnate Word | San Antonio, Texas | Cardinals | Southland |
Former members
Institution | Location | Nickname | Primary conference |
Joined | Left |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stanford University | Stanford, California | Cardinal | ACC | 2021 | 2024 |
Timeline
Fencing members
Conference Champions
Year | Team |
---|---|
2021-22 | Stanford |
2022-23 | |
2023-24 |
Gymnastics
Men's gymnastics was introduced as an MPSF sport with the formation of the conference while women's gymnastics was initiated for the 2001-02 season.
Current members
The MPSF currently has four members that participate in men's gymnastics and four for women's.
Institution | Location | Nickname | Men | Women | Primary conference |
Joined |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States Air Force Academy | USAF Academy, Colorado | Falcons | Mountain West | 1992 | ||
University of Alaska Anchorage | Anchorage, Alaska | Seawolves | GNAC (NCAA D-II) |
2002[a] | ||
University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, California | Golden Bears | ACC | 1992 | ||
University of California, Davis | Davis, California | Aggies | Big West | 2001 | ||
California State University, Sacramento | Sacramento, California | Hornets | Big Sky | 2001 2013 | ||
University of Oklahoma | Norman, Oklahoma | Sooners | SEC | 1992 | ||
Southern Utah University[14] | Cedar City, Utah | Thunderbirds | WAC |
2023 | ||
Stanford University | Stanford, California | Cardinal | ACC | 1992 |
- ^ Did not compete in the 2020–21 season.
Former members
Institution | Location | Nickname | Team | Primary conference |
Joined | Left |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States Air Force Academy | USAF Academy, Colorado | Falcons | Women | Mountain West | 2001 | 2023 |
Brigham Young University | Provo, Utah | Cougars | Men | Big 12 | 1992 | 2000 |
University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | Bruins | Men | Big Ten | 1992 | 1994 |
University of California, Santa Barbara | Isla Vista, California | Gauchos | Men | Big West | 1992 | 2002 |
Women | 2001 | |||||
University of Nebraska | Lincoln, Nebraska | Cornhuskers | Men | Big Ten | 1994 | 2011 |
University of New Mexico | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Lobos | Men | Mountain West | 1992 | 1999 |
San Jose State University | San Jose, California | Spartans | Men | Mountain West | 1992 | 1997 |
Women | 2001 | 2005 | ||||
2013 | 2023 | |||||
Seattle Pacific University | Seattle, Washington | Falcons | Women | GNAC (NCAA D-II) |
2002 | 2020 |
Utah State University | Logan, Utah | Aggies | Women | Mountain West (Pac-12 in 2026) |
2012 | 2013 |
Timeline
Men's & women's gymnastics Women's gymnastics Men's gymnastics
Conference champions
|
National champions
|
Indoor Track & Field
Men's and women's indoor track & field were introduced for the 1992–93 season as one of the conference's inaugural sports. Conference records before 1999 are incomplete.
Current members
- ^ Cal State Northridge's men's and women's teams departed in 1996 before rejoining in 2001 but then departed again in 2005 to rejoin for a second time in 2007.
- ^ Portland's men's team departed in 1996 and the women's team departed in 1999 before both teams rejoined in 2014.
- ^ UC Davis sponsored a men's team that competed in the MPSF from 2004-2005.
- ^ UC Davis' women's team departed in 2005 before rejoining in 2017.
- ^ UC Irvine's women's team departed in 2007 before rejoining in 2010.
- ^ UC Riverside's men's and women's team departed in 2002 before rejoining in 2016.
Former members
Conference champions
|
National championsAll national champions are in men's volleyball.
|
Volleyball
Men's volleyball was introduced for the 1993 season (1992–93 school year) as one of the conference's inaugural sports. The MPSF will add beach volleyball in the 2025 season (2024–25 school year). The MPSF added the sport in the wake of the collapse of the Pac-12 Conference, which saw 10 of its 12 members leave for other conferences after the 2023–24 school year. Of the 10 departing schools, nine sponsor beach volleyball. Three left for the Big 12 Conference, which announced it would start sponsoring beach volleyball in 2024–25.[15] The other six, which joined either the Atlantic Coast Conference or the Big Ten Conference, made up almost all of the inaugural MPSF beach volleyball membership. California, Stanford, UCLA, and USC were already MPSF members in other sports, and Oregon and Washington were returning MPSF members. The only inaugural beach volleyball member not arriving from the Pac-12 is Grand Canyon.
Current members
Institution | Location | Nickname | Men | Women (beach) |
Primary conference |
Joined |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brigham Young University | Provo, Utah | Cougars | Big 12 | 1992 | ||
University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, California | Golden Bears | ACC | 2024 | ||
Concordia University Irvine | Irvine, California | Eagles | Pacific West | 2017 | ||
Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, Arizona | Antelopes | [a] | WAC (MWC in 2026) |
2017 (M) 2024 (W) | |
Menlo College | Atherton, California | Oaks | PacWest | 2024 | ||
Pepperdine University | Malibu, California | Waves | WCC | 1992 | ||
University of Oregon | Eugene, Oregon | Ducks | Big Ten | 2024 | ||
Stanford University | Stanford, California | Cardinal | ACC | 1992 (M) 2024 (W) | ||
University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | Bruins | Big Ten | |||
University of Southern California | Los Angeles, California (South Los Angeles) |
Trojans | ||||
Vanguard University | Costa Mesa, California | Lions | PacWest | 2024 | ||
University of Washington | Seattle, Washington | Huskies | Big Ten |
- ^ Grand Canyon joined MPSF beach volleyball in 2024, but has not announced its future affiliation for when it joins the Mountain West Conference in 2026. GCU will remain in MPSF men's volleyball.
Future members
Institution | Location | Nickname | Men | Women (Beach) |
Primary conference |
Joining |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jessup University | Rocklin, California | Warriors | PacWest | TBD |
Former members
Timeline
Men's & women's (beach) volleyball Women's (beach) volleyball Men's volleyball
Conference champions
|
National championsAll national champions are in men's volleyball.
† — Vacated due to NCAA violations |
Conference champions
Source: [16]
Women's lacrosse
Men's soccer
|
Men's track & field indoor
Women's track & field indoor
|
Men's water polo
Women's water polo
|
NCAA titles
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation has won 100 NCAA titles in seven sports. UCLA has won 25 national titles. Stanford has won 20 titles. USC has won 16 titles. Oregon has won 12 titles. Oklahoma has won nine titles. California has won six titles. UC Irvine has won four titles. Arizona State and Brigham Young have won three titles. Pepperdine has won two titles. The MPSF has won every men's and women's water polo NCAA title since the inception of the conference.
Men's gymnastics
Men's soccer
|
Men's water polo
Women's water polo
|
References
- ^ a b Writer, Matthew De George-Senior (June 13, 2023). "Big West Approves Addition of Men's and Women's Swimming in 2024-25". Swimming World News. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Members - Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Archived July 27, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Mpsports.Org. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
- ^ "'Roo Men's Water Polo to Join Mountain Pacific Sports Federation". acroos.com. January 16, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- ^ Mountain Pacific Sports Federation - Athletics. Mpsports.Org. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
- ^ "WAC Adds Men's Soccer" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 9, 2013. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
- ^ "Pac-12 Adds Women's Lacrosse for 2018 Season". Lacrosse Magazine. October 23, 2015. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ "GCC Launches Men's Division To Begin Play in 2016" (Press release). Golden Coast Conference. January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- ^ "Big West Conference Makes Men's Volleyball 18th Sponsored Sport". Big West Conference. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- ^ "CSUB Athletics Announces Strategic Shift in Resources" (Press release). CSU Bakersfield Athletics. June 27, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "MPSF Adds Fencing in 2021-22 as 10th Sport". MPSF. August 2, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ^ "MPSF Adds Artistic Swimming in 2022 as Record-Tying 11th Sport". MPSF. September 16, 2021. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023.
- ^ "MPSF Adds Beach Volleyball as Record-Setting 12th Sport" (Press release). Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. November 9, 2023. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "St. Mary's to Compete in MPSF Women's Indoor Track & Field" (Press release). Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. December 7, 2023. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ "Flippin' Birds Find a New Conference". Cedar City, UT: Southern Utah University Athletics. September 21, 2023. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
- ^ "Big 12 to Add Beach Volleyball & Women's Lacrosse" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "MPSF ♦ NCAA Championship History" (PDF). Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Retrieved July 29, 2023.