Seattle University to Join West Coast Conference in 2025

Dear Seattle University Community, 

I am thrilled to share that Seattle University will be joining the West Coast Conference (WCC) starting in the 2025-26 season. This is an exciting moment for our student athletes, alumni and university that places SU in excellent position for the future in the rapidly changing world of college sports. The WCC and its member schools are well-aligned with us from an academic, athletics and geographic standpoint.  

Being a part of the WCC is in many ways a homecoming for Seattle University. In 1971, after decades of success in athletics as an independent university, we joined fellow Jesuit universities Loyola Marymount University, Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco as a member of the West Coast Athletic Conference, which today is known as the West Coast Conference. The conference later expanded to include fellow Jesuit university Gonzaga as well as the University of Portland and the University of San Diego, fellow Catholic universities. Seattle University left the conference a decade later as part of the university’s decision to withdraw from Division I athletics. 

After returning to Division I in 2008, Seattle University joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2012. We are grateful for our membership in the conference and grateful for the outstanding competition its member schools have provided. It is worth noting that we are entering the WCC with a fellow WAC member, Grand Canyon University. 

At the same time, returning to the WCC is an extraordinary opportunity for Seattle University. With its member schools espousing a faith-based approach to education, the conference aligns very well with our mission and academics. The conference’s profile will provide greater visibility for our institution, as a whole, and particularly the excellence of our students, alumni, faculty and staff. 

There are also practical benefits to joining the WCC. For instance, while the university’s current affiliation requires our student athletes to travel between 700 and 2,000 miles to compete, the WCC offers a much more manageable geographic arrangement, which is in line with our commitment to the well-being of our students and our leadership in sustainability.

Seattle University has a long and distinguished tradition of excellence in intercollegiate athletics. As we plan to join the WCC, I hope you share my excitement for our student athletes who I know will continue to excel in the classroom and in competition. 

Go Redhawks! 

Respectfully, 

Eduardo M. Peñalver
President

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