Northern California Athletic Conference

Former NCAA Division II football conference From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) was an NCAA Division II college athletic association that sponsored American football that was founded in 1925. It disbanded in 1998 after the majority of its member schools were forced to drop football.

FormerlyFar Western Conference (1925–1982)
ConferenceNCAA
Founded1925; 101 years ago (1925)
Ceased1998; 28 years ago (1998)[1]
Quick facts Formerly, Conference ...
Northern California Athletic Conference
FormerlyFar Western Conference (1925–1982)
ConferenceNCAA
Founded1925; 101 years ago (1925)
Ceased1998; 28 years ago (1998)[1]
DivisionDivision II
No. of teams16 (total)
RegionWest Coast
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History

The NCAC was founded as the Far Western Conference (FWC) in 1925 by its charter member schools: Fresno State, Saint Mary's, UC Davis, Nevada, San Jose State and College of the Pacific.[2]

Nevada's departure from the conference in 1940 left the conference with only four members: Chico State, Fresno State, College of the Pacific and UC Davis.[3] The conference looked to four nominees in Humboldt State (joined in 1940), San Francisco State, Santa Barbara State College (later UC Santa Barbara) and California Poly of San Luis Obispo.[4]

Shortly after World War II, the remaining members, with the exception of UC Davis, Chico State and Humboldt State, would leave for other conferences, to be replaced over the years by San Francisco State (joined in 1946), Southern Oregon (1947), Sacramento State (1953), Hayward State (1961) and Sonoma State (1966). During the 1990s, each of the universities associated with the California State system chose to disband their football teams in order to comply with Title IX, with the exception of Humboldt State, which added two women's sports to achieve compliance, Sacramento State,[1] and Cal Poly.

Chronological timeline

  • 1925 – The Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) was founded as the Far Western Conference (FWC). Charter members included the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture (later the University of California at Davis), Fresno State Normal School (later California State University, Fresno), the University of Nevada (later the University of Nevada, Reno), the University of the Pacific and Saint Mary's College of California, beginning the 1925–26 academic year.
  • 1927:
    • Saint Mary's (Cal.) left the FWC after the 1926–27 academic year.
    • St. Ignatius College (later the University of San Francisco) joined the FWC in the 1927–28 academic year.
  • 1928 – Chico State Teachers College (later California State University, Chico) joined the FWC in the 1928–29 academic year.
  • 1929:
    • St. Ignatius (later San Francisco) left the FWC after the 1928–29 academic year.
  • San Jose State Teachers College (later San Jose State University) joined the FWC in the 1929–30 academic year.
  • 1935 – San Jose State left the FWC after the 1934–35 academic year.
  • 1940:
    • Fresno State and Nevada left the FWC after the 1939–40 academic year.
    • Humboldt State College (later California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt) joined the FWC in the 1940–41 academic year.
  • 1942 – Pacific left the FWC after the 1941–42 academic year.
  • 1946 – San Francisco State College (later San Francisco State University) joined the FWC in the 1946–47 academic year.
  • 1947 – Southern Oregon College (later Southern Oregon University) joined the FWC in the 19247–48 academic year.
  • 1951 – San Francisco State left the FWC after the 1950–51 academic year.
  • 1953:
    • Southern Oregon left the FWC after the 1952–53 academic year.
    • Sacramento State College (later California State State University, Sacramento) joined the FWC (with Nevada and San Francisco State rejoining) in the 1953–54 academic year.
  • 1964 – California State College, Hayward (later California State University, East Bay) joined the FWC in the 1964–65 academic year.
  • 1966 – Sonoma State College (later Sonoma State University) joined the FWC in the 1966–67 academic year.
  • 1969 – Nevada left the FWC for a second time after the 1968–69 academic year.
  • 1974 – Sonoma State left the FWC after the 1973–74 academic year.
  • 1975 – Stanislaus State College (later California State University, Stanislaus) joined the FWC in the 1975–76 academic year.
  • 1982:
    • The FWC was rebranded as the Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC), beginning the 1982–83 academic year.
    • Sonoma State joined the NCAC in the 1982–83 academic year.
  • 1985 – Sacramento State left the NCAC after the 1984–85 academic year.
  • 1988 – The College of Notre Dame of California (later Notre Dame de Namur University) joined the NCAC in the 1988–89 academic year.
  • 1998 – The NCAC ceased operations as an athletic conference after the 1997–98 academic year; as many schools left to join their respective new home primary conferences, beginning the 1998–99 academic year:

Member schools

Final members

More information Institution, Location ...
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined[a] Left[b] Current
conference
California State University, Hayward[c]
(Cal State Hayward)		 Hayward, California 1957 Public[d] 10,892 Pioneers 1961 1998 California (CCAA)
California State University, Chico[e]
(Chico State)		 Chico, California 1887 Public[d] 14,581 Wildcats 1928 1998 California (CCAA)
Humboldt State University[f]
(Humboldt State)		 Arcata, California 1913 Public[d] 6,045 Lumberjacks 1940 1998 California (CCAA)
College of Notre Dame[g] Belmont, California 1851 Catholic
(SNDdeN)		 200
(as of 2023)		 Argonauts 1988 1998 N/A[h]
San Francisco State University[i]
(San Francisco State)		 San Francisco, California 1899 Public[d] 22,357 Gators 1946 1951 California (CCAA)
1953 1998
Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, California 1960 Public[d] 6,566 Cossacks[j] 1966 1974 N/A[k]
1982 1998
California State University, Stanislaus
(Stanislaus State)		 Turlock, California 1957 Public[d] 9,295 Warriors 1975 1998 California (CCAA)
University of California, Davis
(UC Davis)		 Davis, California 1905 Public[l] 40,772 Aggies 1925 1998 Big West (BWC)[m]
(Mountain West (MW)[m] in 2026)
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Notes
  1. [a]
    Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. [b]
    Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
  3. [c]
    Currently known as California State University, East Bay since 2005.
  4. [d]
    Part of the California State University System.
  5. [e]
    Formerly known as Chico State College until 1972.
  6. [f]
    Currently known as California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt since early 2022.
  7. [g]
    Currently known as Notre Dame de Namur University since 2001.
  8. [h]
    Notre Dame de Namur discontinued its athletics program at the end of the 2022–23 school year.
  9. [i]
    Formerly known as California State University, San Francisco until 1974.
  10. [j]
    Currently known as the Sonoma State Seawolves.
  11. [k]
    Sonoma State discontinued its athletics program at the end of the 2024–25 school year.
  12. [l]
    Part of the University of California System.
  13. [m]
    Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.

Other members

More information Institution, Location ...
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined[a] Left[b] Current
conference
Fresno State Normal School[c] Fresno, California 1911 Public[d] 25,341 Bulldogs 1925 1940 Mountain West (MW)[e]
(Pac-12[e] in 2026)
University of Nevada[f] Reno, Nevada 1874 Public[g] 21,034 Wolf Pack 1925 1940 Mountain West (MW)[e]
1953 1969
University of the Pacific Stockton, California 1911 United
Methodist		 6,652 Tigers 1925 1942 West Coast (WCC)
California State University, Sacramento[h]
(Sacramento State, Sac State)		 Sacramento, California 1947 Public[d] 31,943 Hornets 1953 1985 Big Sky (BSC)[e]
(Big West (BWC)[e] in 2026)
St. Ignatius College[i] San Francisco, California 1855 Catholic
(Jesuit)		 10,017 Dons 1927 1929 West Coast (WCC)[e]
Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, California 1863 Catholic
(FSC)		 2,775 Gaels 1925 1927 West Coast (WCC)[e]
San Jose State Teachers College[j] San Jose, California 1857 Public[d] 33,025 Spartans 1929 1935 Mountain West (MW)[e]
Southern Oregon College of Education[k] Ashland, Oregon 1872 Public 5,371 Raiders 1947 1953 Cascade (CCC)[l]
Close
Notes
  1. [a]
    Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. [b]
    Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
  3. [c]
    Later known as Fresno State College from 1949 to 1972; currently known as California State University, Fresno since 1972.
  4. [d]
    Part of the California State University System.
  5. [e]
    Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
  6. [f]
    Also known as the University of Nevada, Reno since 1969.
  7. [g]
    Part of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
  8. [h]
    Formerly known as Sacramento State College until 1972.
  9. [i]
    Currently known as the University of San Francisco since 1930.
  10. [j]
    Later known as San Jose State College from 1935 to 1972; then as California State University, San Jose from 1972 to 1974; currently known as San Jose State University since 1974.
  11. [k]
    Later became known as Southern Oregon College from 1956 to 1975; then as Southern Oregon State College from 1975 to 1997; currently known as Southern Oregon University since 1997.
  12. [l]
    Currently an NAIA athletic conference.

Membership timeline

Notre Dame de Namur ArgonautsStanislaus State WarriorsSonoma State SeawolvesCal State East Bay PioneersSacramento State HornetsSouthern Oregon RaidersSan Francisco State GatorsCal Poly Humboldt LumberjacksSan Jose State SpartansChico State WildcatsSan Francisco DonsFresno State BulldogsPacific TigersNevada Wolf PackNevada Wolf PackSaint Mary's GaelsUC Davis Aggies

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football) 

Conference champions

Football

[2]

Baseball

  • 1948: Chico State
  • 1949: Chico State
  • 1950: Chico State
  • 1951: UC Davis
  • 1952: Chico State
  • 1953: Chico State & Sacramento State
  • 1954: Chico State & Sacramento State
  • 1955: Sacramento State
  • 1956: Sacramento State
  • 1957: Sacramento State
  • 1958: Sacramento State
  • 1959: Sacramento State & Chico State
  • 1960: Sacramento State
  • 1961: Sacramento State & San Francisco State
  • 1962: San Francisco State
  • 1963: San Francisco State
  • 1964: Sacramento State
  • 1965: Sacramento State
  • 1968: Sacramento State
  • 1969: Sacramento State & San Francisco State
  • 1970: Sacramento State
  • 1971: Sacramento State
  • 1972: Cal State Hayward
  • 1973: UC Davis
  • 1974: Sacramento State & UC Davis
  • 1975: Sacramento State
  • 1976: UC Davis
  • 1977: Cal State Hayward
  • 1978: Chico State
  • 1979: UC Davis
  • 1983: San Francisco State & Chico State
  • 1984: UC Davis
  • 1985: Sacramento State (Final season in league), Chico State, & UC Davis
  • 1986: San Francisco State
  • 1987: Chico State
  • 1989: San Francisco State
  • 1990: Sonoma State UC Davis
  • 1991: Sonoma State
  • 1992: Sonoma State
  • 1993: UC Davis
  • 1994: UC Davis
  • 1995: San Francisco State
  • 1996: Chico State
  • 1997: Chico State
  • 1998: Sonoma State & Chico State

Total Baseball Championships

  • Sacramento State - 18
  • Chico State - 14
  • UC Davis - 9
  • San Francisco State - 8
  • Sonoma State - 4
  • Cal State Hayward - 2

Women's volleyball

Men's soccer

Women's soccer

Women's basketball

Softball

See also

References

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