UC Riverside, Cal Baptist men's soccer teams switch conferences as Big West and Pac-12 announce partnership

UC Riverside and Cal Baptist University will switch conferences ahead of the upcoming 2026 season after the Big West Conference and Pac-12 Conference announced a partnership on Tuesday. 

Along with the UCR Highlanders and CBU Lancers, the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs and UC San Diego Tritons will also be joining Pac-12 play, according to a joint news release shared by all four athletics programs. 

"This partnership represents what can happen when conferences work together with purpose," said a statement from Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly on the collaboration. "Our shared goal has been clear — protect opportunities for student-athletes, preserve Division I men's soccer in the West, and ensure our institutions continue to have meaningful access to NCAA championship pathways."

The four programs will begin competing as affiliate members of the Pac-12 with the 2026-27 season, joining the Oregon State University Beavers and Gonzaga Bulldogs, who both played in the West Coast Conference last year, and the San Diego State University Aztecs, who played in the Western Athletic Conference. 

California Baptist was set to join the Big West in 2026-27, but the partnership switches their course to the Pac-12. The rest of the school's athletic teams are still slated to become Big West teams. 

The Big West will now be comprised of teams from Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Sacramento State, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Utah Valley University. The upcoming schedule will feature a series of collaborative crossover matches between schools of both conferences.

"By working together, our conferences are ensuring stability for men's soccer programs across the region and maintaining strong competitive opportunities and postseason access for our student-athletes," said a statement from Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould.