History

Big 12 Conference

The Big 12 Conference is comprised of 14 institutions after welcoming BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston on July 1, 2023, joining Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The league is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics conference that encompasses eight states, three time zones and a combined population of over 79.3 million. Entering its 28th year, the Conference has produced over 800 Academic All-America selections and claimed national championship team titles in 20 of its 23 sponsored sports. Its student-athletes and teams have combined for 742 individual NCAA titles and 81 team national championships under the Big 12 banner. 

For more information, visit Big12Sports.com.

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF)

Established in 1992, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation unites universities in the western United States to provide championship competition for Division I Olympic sports in a conference setting. Member institutions come from the Big West, Pac-12, Mountain West, Western Athletic and West Coast Conferences.

According to the MPSF's website, the conference was originally formed "to provide enhanced competition and championship opportunities for sports without conference affiliation, to contain the costs of competition, and to ensure the survival of sports impacted by Title IX and other fiscal pressures. In addition, the MPSF has also served as an incubator for emerging women's sports and as a safe harbor for sports impacted by conference realignments."

The MPSF serves 38 member colleges in 11 sports. Those sports include men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's indoor track & field, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's volleyball and men's and women's water polo. All MPSF champions are eligible for NCAA championships.

BYU currently participates in the MPSF in men's volleyball, and has competed in men's and women's indoor track and field and men's and women's swimming priori to joining the Big 12 Conference. The Cougars have competed in the MPSF in men's volleyball since 1990, and have won four conference championships in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004. In 1999, 2001 and 2004, the Cougar men also went on to win the NCAA National Championship.

The MPSF can be found on the web at mpsports.org.

FORMER CONFERENCES

West Coast Conference

The West Coast Conference was formed in 1952 and has evolved and grown to become a nationally recognized and competitive force in Division I intercollegiate athletics, with 13 conference-sponsored sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball. The WCC is characterized by the stability of its membership and its unique emphasis on combining excellence in athletics with excellence in academics.

WCC members span the western coast of the United States from Canada to Mexico, from the pine forests of Eastern Washington, to the Columbia River Basin, to the dynamic San Francisco Bay Area, to the sunny beaches of Southern California. The Conference is characterized by the stability of its membership - only two conferences have been together longer - and its unique emphasis on combining excellence in athletics with excellence in academics.

The Conference recognizes championships in each of its sports, has hosted NCAA championship events, and produced 26 NCAA Division I individual or team champions. And, many outstanding WCC student-athletes have gone on to excel in professional sports.

The long and rich history of the WCC demonstrates that success in intercollegiate athletics can be built on the foundation of values, character, and academics.

BYU joined the West Coast Conference on July 1, 2011, to begin competing in the league for the 2011-12 season. The Cougars competed in 11 of the 13 conference-sponsored sports, including baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.

The WCC can be found on the web wccsports.com.

Mountain West Conference (MWC)

The Mountain West Conference began operations on July 1, 1999, when eight teams broke away from the Western Athletic Conference. In 2005 the MWC added TCU.

The split from the WAC marked the end of a large 16-team conference spanning nine states and five time zones. From 1999 to 2011, the Mountain West Conference maintained its geographic diversity. Some of the nation's most beautiful scenery were found within the borders of the Mountain West Conference, including the unparalleled Rocky Mountain range, the high plains of Wyoming, the desert climate of Las Vegas, the Pacific locale of San Diego and the southwestern flavor of New Mexico. The MWC headquarters are located in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In BYU's 12 years competing in the MWC, the Cougars dominated the conference in championships, claiming more than 39 percent of MWC titles. The Cougars won 140 of the 357 MWC championship titles awarded from 1999 to 2011.

The Mountain West Conference can be found on the web at themwc.com.

Western Athletic Conference (WAC)

The Western Athletic Conference was originally formed in 1962 with six teams-Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The conference grew to 16 teams in 1996. This four-division conference spanned nine states and five time zones, which prompted the eight founding Mountain West teams to leave the WAC in 1999.

The WAC began competition with 10 sports. The first conference championship was held in 1962, with Arizona winning the men's cross-country title. Less than three years later, Arizona State brought the conference its first NCAA title, winning the College World Series.

The WAC only fielded men's sports teams until 1990, when the High Country Athletic Conference (HCAC), a conference for women's sports, folded, and its teams brought their women's sports teams to the WAC.

BYU won 164 championships during its time in the Western Athletic Conference.

The WAC can be found on the web at wac.com.

Mountain States Conference (Skyline)

Commonly referred to as the Skyline Conference, the Mountain States Conference was formed in large part because member institutions felt the Rocky Mountain Conference was getting too big. With fewer members, each school would be able to play all the other conference schools each year.

BYU was an inaugural member, joining the conference when it was founded in 1937. During its time in the Mountain States Conference, the Cougar football team earned its first win over the University of Utah.

Early on, the Skyline Conference earned a reputation as a basketball power. In 1943, Wyoming's basketball team won the National Championship by posting a 31-2 record. Wyoming won the NCAA championship, then went on to beat NIT champion St. John's in a game billed as the game of the century. This was the first-ever national championship for the Mountain States Conference.

Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference

Formed in 1909, the Rocky Mountain Conference was formed with the philosophy that the faculty of each school should be involved in determining conference regulations. Originally called the Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference, schools from neighboring states were invited soon after. BYU joined the Rocky Mountain Conference in 1918. The conference consisted of 12 members when it was dissolved in 1937.

High Country Athletic Conference (HCAC)

The High Country Athletic Conference was formed in 1982 for women's sports. At that time the Western Athletic Conference did not recognize women's athletics. The HCAC consisted of seven teams-BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Utah, Utah State and Wyoming. The conference dissolved in 1990, when the WAC invited women's programs to join.

Intermountain Athletic Conference (IAC)

BYU's women's teams competed in the Intermountain Athletic Conference from 1974 to 1982.

Intermountain Conference of College Women Physical Education (ICCWPE) BYU's women's teams played in the Intermountain Conference of College Women Physical Education from 1969-1973.