The UC Riverside and California Baptist University men’s soccer teams will compete in the Pac 12 Conference next season as part of a “strategic partnership” involving two other California schools, officials said.
UCR and California Baptist will join UC San Diego and Cal Poly as affiliate members of the Pac-12 for the 2026-27 season, the conference announced Monday.
The women’s soccer teams will not be part of the affiliation, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The Pac-12 and Big West Conference will also schedule crossover matches between member institutions of both conferences.
The partnership is “designed to strengthen and sustain Division I men’s soccer opportunities across the western United States,” officials said.
“We are excited about the future of UC Riverside Men’s Soccer and honored to be selected as a new member of the Pac 12 Conference,” UCR men’s soccer coach Tim Cupello said. “During our time in the Big West, we have earned success with multiple team championships, while developing players to advance their careers into top professional leagues and World Cup selections.
“We look forward to the opportunity to evolve in the Pac 12 and are excited for our campus community to experience our brand on a new stage.”
Coe Michaelson, head coach of California Baptist’s men’s soccer team, echoed those thoughts.
“I’m very happy that the Big West and Pac-12 have collaborated to create something positive for West Coast men’s soccer programs,” he said. “There is a clear recognition of the potential for men’s soccer teams to compete at an elite level nationally by being savvy in how we work together for everyone’s mutual benefit.”
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said having affiliate teams advances the goal of “supporting competitive and viable Olympic sports.”
The conference schedule will begin the week of Sept. 30 and conclude on Oct. 31. Teams will play each conference opponent once, with three home and three away games, and three crossover matches between the two conferences that will have no effect on conference tournament standings.
Each conference will compete in its own postseason tournament to determine the automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament.
The Pac-12 is rebuilding following its virtual dissolution in 2024, as all schools except Oregon and Washington departed for other conferences and bigger TV revenue.