The West Coast Conference is expanding with the additions of Grand Canyon University and Seattle University, effective July 1, 2025, the conference announced Friday.
“We are thrilled to welcome two institutions of higher education that each will make significant contributions to the future of the West Coast Conference,” said Dr. Thayne McCulloh, the chair of the WCC presidents’ council, in a statement. “While each university has a unique and distinctive character, both are deeply invested in the welfare of their students and surrounding communities, are making significant investments in their athletics programs and facilities, and will enhance the competitive profile of the West Coast Conference.”
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GCU and Seattle will both compete in 14 of the WCC’s sponsored sports. WCC commissioner Stu Jackson said the additions will help the conference get into two major cities in the western part of the United States, as the WCC aims to be nationally relevant and visible.
Once GCU and Seattle join the fold, the WCC will have 11 full-time members in addition to its affiliate members, a designation that includes Washington State and Oregon State for two seasons starting this summer.
The league will evaluate all options when it comes to scheduling in men’s and women’s basketball, both in terms of the format and the total number of conference games, Jackson said at a news conference.
“Everything will be on the table,” he said.
Jackson characterized the WCC’s efforts to expand the league’s membership as a “process that didn’t happen overnight,” and that it took deliberate effort to get all of his presidents on board with the need to add members. Grand Canyon athletic director Jamie Boggs joked “it was a long dating process, and now we’re happy to get married.”
Part of the reason it’s taken the WCC so long to add GCU is because its makeup is very different than the small, private Jesuit schools. Grand Canyon is a for-profit school with an enrollment of more than 100,000 students (with a large majority online-only).
It took WCC leaders time to embrace Grand Canyon and all it has invested into becoming a significant player in college athletics.
Jackson added there is more security and strength in numbers; if Gonzaga or other current conference members were to depart, there are enough other members to stabilize the league. It’s a lesson many college athletic leaders have taken from the death of the Pac-12 last summer.
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(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
