hen the West Coast Conference first got its start back in 1952, the founders really had only one goal in mind...to create a convenient way for five Bay Area schools to play basketball. Now 49 years later, a marvelously cohesive athletics league which is competitive at the national level in 13 sports is entering 22 seasons under its present eight-team mix. 
The current members of the WCC span the western coast of the United States from Canada to Mexico. Though the institutions range from the pine forests of eastern Washington state to the sun drenched beaches of southern California, the combined excellence in athletics and academics sets the conference apart on the national scene and draws the individual institutions together in a common mission.
The WCC crowns champions in 13 sports: baseball, men and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.
The league was chartered by five Bay Area institutions (San Francisco, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, San Jose State and Pacific) as the California Basketball Association, playing its first game on January 2, 1953. After two seasons of play under that name, the conference expanded to include Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine in 1955, and became the "West Coast Athletic Conference" in 1956. The name was shortened in 1989.
The current alignment of Gonzaga, LMU, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara has remained unchanged since 1979, making the WCC the third most stable conference in the nation. Only the Ivy League and Pacific-10 Conference have been together longer.
The men's basketball loop is long on history, ranging from the Bill Russell-led San Francisco national champions in 1955 and '56 to high-octane Loyola Marymount which set the current NCAA single season scoring record in 1990.
| ALL-TIME MEMBERSHIP | | WCC SPORT SPONSORSHIP |
Saint Mary's
| 49 years
| 1952-01 | | SPORT | YEAR SPONSORED |
| Santa Clara | 49 years | 1952-01 | | Baseball | 1968 |
| San Francisco | 49 years | 1952-01 | | Basketball (M) | 1952 |
| Loyola Marymount | 46 years | 1955-01 | | Basketball (W) | 1985 |
| Pepperdine | 46 years | 1955-01 | | Cross Country (M) | 1977 |
| Portland | 25 years | 1976-01 | | Cross Country (W) | 1985 |
| Gonzaga | 22 years | 1979-01 | | Golf (M) | 1969 |
| San Diego | 22 years | 1979-01 | | Golf (W) | 1997 |
| Pacific | 19 years | 1952-71 | | Rowing (W) | 1997 |
| San Jose State | 17 years | 1952-69 | | Soccer (M) | 1981 |
| Nevada-Reno | 10 years | 1969-79 | | Soccer (W) | 1992 |
| Seattle | 9 years | 1971-80 | | Tennis (M) | 1958 |
| UNLV | 6 years | 1969-75 | | Tennis (W) | 1986 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 5 years | 1964-69 | | Women's Volleyball | 1986 |
| Fresno State | 2 years | 1955-57 | | | |
| WCC Top 50 Student Athletes | | |
| Name | School | Sport | | Name | School | Sport |
| Bird Averitt | PEP | MBB | | Brittany Lindhe | USF | WBB |
| Dennis Awtrey | SCU | MBB | | Roger Lindqvist | USD | MSOC |
| Justi Baumgardt | POR | WSOC | | Sarah McFarland | LMU | VB |
| Billy Bean | LMU | BB | | Shannon McMillan | POR | WSOC |
| Anja Bordt | SMC | WBB | | Tom Meschery | SMC | MBB |
| Taggert Bozied | USF | BB | | Tiffeny Milbrett | POR | WSOC |
| Jeff Brown | GON | MBB | | Tracy Morris | SMC | WBB |
| Casey Calvary | GON | MBB | | Steve Nash | SCU | MBB |
| Tom Candiotti | SMC | BB | | Jose Luis Noriega | USD | MT |
| Bill Cartwright | USF | MBB | | Sarah Noriega | LMU | VB |
| Doug Christie | PEP | MBB | | Lisa Petticord | GON | VB |
| Mandy Clemens | SCU | WSOC | | Kurt Rambis | SCU | MBB |
| Susie Erpelding | USD | WBB | | Cameron Rast | SCU | MSOC |
| Mike Farmer | USF | MBB | | Steve Rodriguez | PEP | BB |
| Hank Gathers | LMU | MBB | | Bill Russell | USF | MBB |
| Valerie Gillon | USF | WBB | | Laura Sale | POR | WBB |
| Jason Gore | PEP | MG | | Matt Santangelo | GON | MBB |
| Guillermo Jara | USD | MSOC | | Mike Scott | PEP | BB |
| K.C. Jones | USF | MBB | | Ken Sears | SCU | MBB |
| Kelly Jones | PEP | MT | | Martha Sheldon | POR | WBB |
| Kasey Keller | POR | MSOC | | Danielle Slaton | SCU | WSOC |
| Bo Kimble | LMU | MBB | | Phil Smith | USF | MBB |
| Melissa King | SCU | WBB | | John Stockton | GON | MBB |
| Tim Layana | LMU | BB | | Robbie Weiss | PEP | MT |
| Zuzana Lesenarova | USD | WT | | Petia Yanchulova | USD | VB |