California Collegiate Athletic Association

History

Recent events

On November 14, 2023, the University of California, Merced had accepted an invitation to join the CCAA, beginning the 2025–26 academic year.

On January 22, 2025, Sonoma State University announced that it would be ceasing all athletic operations following the conclusion of the 2024–25 athletic year.

On June 13, 2025, Fresno Pacific University received an invitation to join the CCAA, beginning the 2026–27 academic year.

Chronological timeline

• 1938 – The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) was founded. Charter members included Fresno State Normal School (now California State University, Fresno or Fresno State University), San Diego State College (now San Diego State University), San Jose State College (now San Jose State University) and Santa Barbara State College (now the University of California, Santa Barbara), beginning the 1939–40 academic year.
• 1945 – George Pepperdine College (now Pepperdine University) and California State Polytechnic College (now California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo) joined the CCAA in the 1945–46 academic year.
• 1946 – The College of the Pacific (now the University of the Pacific) joined the CCAA in the 1946–47 academic year.
• 1949:
  • Pacific (Cal.) left the CCAA to join the University Division ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an NCAA Independent after the 1948–49 academic year.
  • San Jose State left the CCAA to join the NCAA University Division ranks as an NCAA Independent after the 1949–50 academic year.
• 1950 – The Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences (now California State University, Los Angeles) joined the CCAA in the 1950–51 academic year.
• 1954 – Pepperdine left the CCAA to join the NCAA University I ranks as an NCAA Independent after the 1953–54 academic year.
• 1956 – Long Beach State College (now California State University, Long Beach) joined the CCAA in the 1956–57 academic year.
• 1961 – San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge) joined the CCAA in the 1961–62 academic year.
• 1967 – California State College at Fullerton (now California State University, Fullerton) and California State Polytechnic College, Kellogg-Voorhis (now California State Polytechnic University, Pomona) joined the CCAA in the 1967–68 academic year.
• 1969:
  • Cal State–Los Angeles, Fresno State, Long Beach State, San Diego State and UC Santa Barbara left the CCAA to join the NCAA University Division ranks and form the Pacific Collegiate Athletic Association (PCAA; now known as the Big West Conference) after the 1968–69 academic year.
  • The University of California, Riverside joined the CCAA in the 1969–70 academic year.
• 1972 – California State College, Bakersfield (now California State University, Bakersfield) joined the CCAA in the 1972–73 academic year.
• 1974:
  • Cal State–Fullerton left the CCAA to join the PCAA after the 1973–74 academic year.
  • Cal State–Los Angeles rejoined the CCAA in the 1974–75 academic year.
• 1978 – Chapman College (now Chapman University) joined the CCAA in the 1978–79 academic year.
• 1980 – California State University, Dominguez Hills joined the CCAA in the 1980–81 academic year.
• 1990 – Cal State–Northridge left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA D-I Independent (who would later join the American West Conference, beginning the 1994–95 academic year) after the 1989–90 academic year.
• 1991 – California State University, San Bernardino joined the CCAA in the 1991–92 academic year.
• 1993 – Chapman left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an NCAA D-III Independent after the 1992–93 academic year.
• 1994:
  • Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the American West after the 1993–94 academic year.
  • Grand Canyon University joined the CCAA in the 1994–95 academic year.
• 1998 – California State University, Chico (Chico State), California State University, Stanislaus (Stanislaus State), San Francisco State University, Sonoma State University and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) joined the CCAA in the 1998–99 academic year.
• 2000:
  • UC Riverside left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Big West Conference after the 1999–2000 academic year.
  • The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) joined the CCAA in the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2004:
  • Two institutions left the CCAA to join their respective new home primary conferences, both effective after the 2003–04 academic year:
    • Grand Canyon as an NCAA D-II Independent (who would later join the Pacific West Conference (PacWest), beginning the 2005–06 school year)
    • and UC Davis to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA D-I Independent (who would later join the Big West, beginning the 2007–08 school year)
  • California State University, Monterey Bay joined the CCAA in the 2004–05 academic year.
• 2006 – Humboldt State University (now California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt) joined the CCAA in the 2006–07 academic year.
• 2007 – Cal State–Bakersfield left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA D-I Independent (who would later join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), beginning the 2013–14 school year) after the 2006–07 academic year.
• 2009 – California State University, East Bay (formerly California State University, Hayward) joined the CCAA in the 2009–10 academic year.
• 2015 – California State University, San Marcos joined the CCAA in the 2015–16 academic year.
• 2020 – UC San Diego left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Big West after the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2025:
  • Sonoma State left the CCAA after the 2024–25 academic year; as the school announced that it had ceased all athletic programs.
  • The University of California, Merced (UC Merced) joined the CCAA in the 2025–26 academic year
• 2026 – Fresno Pacific University and Menlo College will join the CCAA, beginning the 2026–27 academic year. They will become the first private non-UCal or non-Cal State schools to join the conference since Grand Canyon (who was a full member from fall 1994 to spring 2004).

Member schools

Current members

, the CCAA has 12 full members, all of which are public schools. Reclassifying members listed in yellow.

;Notes:

Future members

;Notes:

Former members

The CCAA had 17 former full members, all but four were public schools. Institutional names and nicknames reflect those used in the final academic year of CCAA membership:

;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1939 till:2030 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5

Colors = id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used

PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:Full from:1939 till:1943 text:Fresno State (1939–1969) bar:1 color:Full from:1946 till:1951 text: bar:1 color:FullxF from:1951 till:1953 text: bar:1 color:Full from:1953 till:1969 text:

bar:2 color:Full from:1939 till:1943 text:San Diego State (1939–1969) bar:2 color:Full from:1946 till:1969 text:

bar:3 color:Full from:1939 till:1943 text:San Jose State (1939–1950) bar:3 color:Full from:1946 till:1950 text:

bar:4 color:Full from:1939 till:1942 text:UC Santa Barbara (1939–1969) bar:4 color:Full from:1946 till:1963 text: bar:4 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1969 text:

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1945 till:1950 text:Pepperdine (1945–1954) bar:5 color:Full from:1950 till:1954 text:

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1945 till:1946 text:Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo (1945–1994) bar:6 color:Full from:1946 till:1982 text: bar:6 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1994 text:

bar:7 color:Full from:1946 till:1949 text:Pacific (Cal.) (1946–1949)

bar:8 color:Full from:1950 till:1969 text:Cal State–Los Angeles (1950–1969) bar:8 color:Full from:1974 till:1976 text:(1974–present) bar:8 color:FullxF from:1976 till:end text:

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1956 till:1957 text:Long Beach State (1956–1969) bar:9 color:Full from:1957 till:1969 text:

bar:10 color:FullxF from:1961 till:1962 text:Cal State–Northridge (1961–1990) bar:10 color:Full from:1962 till:1982 text: bar:10 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1990 text:

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1967 till:1970 text:Cal State–Fullerton (1967–1974) bar:11 color:Full from:1970 till:1974 text:

bar:12 color:FullxF from:1967 till:1969 text:Cal Poly–Pomona (1967–present, except softball 1982–1993) bar:12 color:Full from:1969 till:1982 text: bar:12 color:FullxF from:1982 till:end text:

bar:13 color:Full from:1969 till:1976 text:UC Riverside (1969–2000) bar:13 color:FullxF from:1976 till:2000 text:

bar:14 color:FullxF from:1972 till:2007 text:Cal State–Bakersfield (1972–2007)

bar:15 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1993 text:Chapman (1978–1993)

bar:16 color:FullxF from:1980 till:end text:Cal State–Dominguez Hills (1980–present)

bar:17 color:FullxF from:1991 till:end text:Cal State–San Bernardino (1991–present)

bar:18 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2004 text:Grand Canyon (1994–2004)

bar:19 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Cal State–Chico (1998–present)

bar:20 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Cal State–Stanislaus (1998–present)

bar:21 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:San Francisco State (1998–present)

bar:22 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2025 text:Sonoma State (1998–2025)

bar:23 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2004 text:UC Davis (1998–2004)

bar:24 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2020 text:UC San Diego (2000–2020)

bar:25 color:FullxF from:2004 till:end text:Cal State–Monterey Bay (2004–present)

bar:26 color:FullxF from:2006 till:end text:Cal Poly–Humboldt (2006–present)

bar:27 color:FullxF from:2009 till:end text:Cal State–East Bay (2009–present)

bar:28 shift:(-30) color:FullxF from:2015 till:end text:Cal State–San Marcos (2015–present)

bar:29 shift:(-75) color:FullxF from:2025 till:end text:UC Merced (2025–present)

bar:30 shift:(-95) color:FullxF from:2026 till:end text:Fresno Pacific (2026–future)

bar:31 shift:(-55) color:FullxF from:2026 till:end text:Menlo (2026–future)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1940

TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,20) tabs:(400-center) text:^"California Collegiate Athletic Association membership history"

1. If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space.

Sports sponsored

The CCAA sponsors seven sports for women and six sports for men. Cross country, soccer, and volleyball are fall sports; basketball is a winter sport; golf, outdoor track & field, softball, and baseball are spring sports. Throughout the years, CCAA teams have won 155 NCAA championships in their sports, which is best among all Division II conferences.

The CCAA has a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which is made up of student-athletes from each member institution.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the California Collegiate Athletic Association which are played by CCAA schools:

Women's sponsored sports by school

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the California Collegiate Athletic Association which are played by CCAA schools:

CCAA championships

Basketball

Football

NCAA championships

Conference facilities

References

References

1. "NCAA Division II WebPages". [[Southern Illinois University Edwardsville]].
2. "Commissioner's Office". CCAA.
3. "NCAA Champions from the CCAA". CCAA.
4. (November 14, 2023). "California Collegiate Athletic Association Set to Add University of California, Merced". [[UC Merced Golden Bobcats]].
5. (January 22, 2025). "‘It’s just sad’: Former coaches, athletes react to Sonoma State University decision to cut all athletic programs". The Press Democrat.
6. (June 12, 2025). "Fresno Pacific Joins the CCAA". [[Fresno Pacific Sunbirds]].
7. "Enrollment {{!}} CSU".
8. "All-Time CCAA Champions". CCAA.
9. . (September 27, 1942). ["Guachos Plan Sports Competition Despite League's Suspension"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-barbara-news-press/163950599/). *[[Santa Barbara News-Press]]*.
10. . (November 12, 1955). ["Fresno State's Bulldogs Bite On Mustangs; Sweep CCAA Conference Crown With 34-6 Victory"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-maria-times/163877149/). *[[Santa Maria Times]]*.
11. . (November 21, 1955). ["Grid Standings"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-fresno-bee/163863986/). *[[The Fresno Bee]]*.
12. . (November 25, 1957). ["College Standings"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-barbara-news-press/163858916/). *[[Santa Barbara News-Press]]*.
13. . (November 28, 1957). ["Mustangs Rate Best Small College Team In West"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune/163859192/). *[[The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)*.
14. . (November 25, 1958). ["College Grid Standings"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/163823584/). *[[Los Angeles Times]]*.