Northern California Athletic Conference

Northern California Athletic Conference
FormerlyFar Western Conference (1925–1982)
ConferenceNCAA
Founded1925; 100 years ago (1925)
Ceased1998; 27 years ago (1998)[1]
DivisionDivision II
No. of teams16 (total)
RegionWest Coast

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.

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.

Members

Institution Location Founded Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Cal State Hayward Hayward, CA 1956 Pioneers 1961 1998 CCAA
Chico State Chico, CA 1887 Wildcats 1928 1998 CCAA
Fresno State Fresno, CA 1911 Bulldogs 1925 1940 Mountain West
(Pac-12 in 2026)
Humboldt State Arcata, CA 1913 Lumberjacks 1940 1998 CCAA
Nevada Reno, NV 1874 Wolf Pack 1925
1953 		1940
1969 		Mountain West
Notre Dame (CA) Belmont, CA 1851 Argonauts 1988 1998 Discontinued athletics
Pacific (CA) Stockton, CA 1911 Tigers 1925 1942 West Coast
Sacramento State Sacramento, CA 1947 Hornets 1953 1985 Big Sky
St. Ignatius San Francisco, CA 1855 Dons 1927 1929 West Coast
Saint Mary's Moraga, CA 1863 Gaels 1925 1927 West Coast
San Francisco State San Francisco, CA 1899 Gators 1946
1953 		1951
1998 		CCAA
San Jose State San Jose, CA 1857 Spartans 1929 1935 Mountain West
Sonoma State Rohnert Park, CA 1960 Cossacks (now Seawolves) 1966
1982 		1974
1998 		CCAA
Southern Oregon Ashland, OR 1872 Raiders 1947 1953 Cascade Collegiate
Stanislaus State Turlock, CA 1957 Warriors 1975 1998 CCAA
UC Davis Davis, CA 1905 Aggies 1925 1998 Big West
(Mountain West in 2026)

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 members Full members (non-football) Football-only members

Conference champions

Football

[2]

Baseball

Women's volleyball

Men's soccer

Women's soccer

Women's basketball

Softball

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kroichick, Ron (January 23, 2008). "A place where college sports are a grassroots movement". SFGate. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Conference Championships: Northern California Athletic Conference". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
  3. ^ "Nevada to Quit Far Western Loop". Eugene Register-Guard. Jan 7, 1940. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Nevada Quits But List Grid Game With COP". Lodi News-Sentinel. Jan 8, 1940. Retrieved 5 May 2011.