California Collegiate Athletic Association Explained

California Collegiate Athletic Association should not be confused with California Community College Athletic Association.

The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level.^[1] All of its current members are public universities, and upon UC San Diego's departure on July 1, 2020, all are members of the California State University system.^[2]

It was founded in December 1938 and began competition in 1939. The commissioner of the CCAA is Allen Hardison. CCAA offices are located in Aliso Viejo, California.^[3] The CCAA is the most successful conference in NCAA Division II, as its former and current members have won 155 National Championships.^[4]

History

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), effective 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, effective in the 1945–46 academic year.
• 1946 - The College of the Pacific (now the University of the Pacific) joined the CCAA, effective in the 1946–47 academic year.
• 1949 - Pacific (Cal.) left the CCAA to join the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as an NCAA Independent, effective after the 1948–49 academic year.
• 1949 - San Jose State left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA Independent, effective 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, effective in the 1950–51 academic year.
• 1954 - Pepperdine left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA Independent, effective after the 1953–54 academic year.
• 1956 - Long Beach State College (now California State University, Long Beach) joined the CCAA, effective in the 1956–57 academic year.
• 1961 - San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge) joined the CCAA, effective 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, effective 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 Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and form the Pacific Collegiate Athletic Association (PCAA; now known as the Big West Conference), effective after the 1968–69 academic year.
• 1969 - The University of California, Riverside joined the CCAA, effective in the 1969–70 academic year.
• 1972 - California State College, Bakersfield (now California State University, Bakersfield) joined the CCAA, effective in the 1972–73 academic year.
• 1974 - Cal State–Fullerton left the CCAA to join the PCAA, effective after the 1973–74 academic year.
• 1974 - Cal State–Los Angeles re-joined back to the CCAA, effective in the 1974–75 academic year.
• 1978 - Chapman College (now Chapman University) joined the CCAA, effective in the 1978–79 academic year.
• 1980 - California State University, Dominguez Hills joined the CCAA, effective 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, effective beginning the 1994–95 academic year), effective after the 1989–90 academic year.
• 1991 - California State University, San Bernardino joined the CCAA, effective in the 1991–92 academic year.
• 1993 - Chapman left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division III ranks as an NCAA D-III Independent, effective 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, effective after the 1993–94 academic year.
• 1994 - Grand Canyon University joined the CCAA, effective in the 1994–95 academic year.
• 1998 - California State University, Chico, California State University, Stanislaus, San Francisco State University, Sonoma State University and the University of California, Davis joined the CCAA, effective in the 1998–99 academic year.
• 2000 - UC Riverside left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Big West Conference, effective after the 1999–2000 academic year.
• 2000 - University of California, San Diego joined the CCAA, effective in the 2000–01 academic year.
• 2004 - Two institutions left the CCAA to join their respective new home primary conferences: Grand Canyon as an NCAA D-II Independent (who would later join the Pacific West Conference (PacWest), effective beginning the 2005–06 academic year), and UC Davis to join the NCAA Division I ranks as an NCAA D-I Independent (who would later join the Big West, effective beginning the 2007–08 academic year), effective after the 2003–04 academic year.
• 2004 - California State University, Monterey Bay joined the CCAA, effective in the 2004–05 academic year.
• 2006 - Humboldt State University (now California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt) joined the CCAA, effective 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), effective beginning the 2013–14 academic year), effective after the 2006–07 academic year.
• 2009 - California State University, East Bay joined the CCAA, effective in the 2009–10 academic year.
• 2015 - California State University, San Marcos joined the CCAA, effective in the 2015–16 academic year.
• 2020 - UC San Diego left the CCAA to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the Big West, effective after the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2025 - The University of California, Merced will join the CCAA, effective in the 2025–26 academic year.^[5]

Member schools

Current members

, the CCAA has 12 full members, all of which are public schools in the California State University system.

Institution	Athletic brand	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment [6]	Nickname	Joined	Colors	Division
	Cal Poly Humboldt	Arcata	1913		5,858	Lumberjacks	2006		North
	Cal Poly Pomona	Pomona	1938		27,173	Broncos	1967		South
California State University, Chico	Chico State	Chico	1887		13,840	Wildcats	1998		North
California State University, Dominguez Hills	Cal State Dominguez Hills	Carson	1960		15,530	Toros	1980		South
California State University, East Bay	Cal State East Bay	Hayward	1957		15,189	Pioneers	2009		North
California State University, Los Angeles	Cal State Los Angeles	Los Angeles	1947		26,029	Golden Eagles	1950; 1974		South
California State University, Monterey Bay	Cal State Monterey Bay	Seaside	1994		7,046	Otters	2004		South
California State University, San Bernardino	Cal State San Bernardino or CSUSB	San Bernardino	1965		19,467	Coyotes	1991		South
	Cal State San Marcos	San Marcos	1989		13,469	Cougars	2015		South
California State University, Stanislaus	Stanislaus State	Turlock	1957		10,154	Warriors	1998		North
San Francisco State University	San Francisco State	San Francisco	1899		24,765	Gators	1998		North
Sonoma State University	Sonoma State	Rohnert Park	1960		6,566	Seawolves	1998		North

Notes:

Future member

Notes:

Former members

The CCAA had 16 former full members, all but four were public schools. Institutional names and nicknames reflect those used in the final academic year of CCAA membership:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
California Polytechnic State University	San Luis Obispo	1901	Public	21,306	Mustangs	1945	1994	Big West
California State University, Bakersfield	Bakersfield	1965		8,720	Roadrunners	1972	2007	Big West
California State University, Fresno	Fresno	1911		25,341	Bulldogs	1939	1969	Mountain West
California State University, Fullerton	Fullerton	1957		40,235	Titans	1967	1974	Big West
California State University, Long Beach	Long Beach	1949		37,776	49ers	1956	1969	Big West
California State University, Northridge	Northridge	1958		39,916	Matadors	1961	1990	Big West
	Davis	1905	Public	36,441	Aggies	1998	2004	Big West
	Riverside	1954		22,921	Highlanders	1969	2000	Big West
	La Jolla	1960		33,735	Tritons	2000	2020	Big West
	Santa Barbara	1891		24,346	Gauchos	1939	1969	Big West
Chapman University	Orange	1861	Disciples of Christ	10,001	Panthers	1978	1993	Southern California (SCIAC)
Grand Canyon University	Phoenix (Arizona)	1949	Nondenominational/ For-profit	25,000	Antelopes	1994	2004	Western (WAC)
	Stockton	1851	United Methodist	6,652	Tigers	1946	1949	West Coast (WCC)
Pepperdine University	Malibu	1937	Churches of Christ	6,000	Waves	1945	1954	West Coast (WCC)
San Diego State University	San Diego	1897	Public	35,578	Aztecs	1939	1969	Mountain West
San Jose State University	San Jose	1857		33,025		Spartans	1939	1950	Mountain West

Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyyImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1939 till:2030TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:20 top:5

Colors = id:line value:black id:Full value:rgb(0.63,0.88,0.755) # all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.88,0.755,0.63) # non-football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.88,0.63,0.63) # football-only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.755,0.755,0.63) # associate

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) 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:end text:Sonoma State (1998–present)

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–future)

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

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

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Track & Field Outdoor	Total CCAA Sports
Cal Poly Humboldt							4
Cal Poly Pomona							5
Cal State Dominguez Hills							4
Cal State East Bay							6
Cal State Los Angeles							5
Cal State Monterey Bay							5
Cal State San Bernardino							4
Cal State San Marcos							6
Chico State							6
San Francisco State							4
Sonoma State							4
Stanislaus State							6
Totals	11	12	9	8	12	7	59
Future member
UC Merced							4

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Track & Field Outdoor	Volleyball	Total CCAA Sports
Cal Poly Humboldt								6
Cal Poly Pomona								5
Cal State Dominguez Hills								5
Cal State East Bay								7
Cal State Los Angeles								6
Cal State Monterey Bay								7
Cal State San Bernardino								6
Cal State San Marcos								7
Chico State								7
San Francisco State								6
Sonoma State								7
Stanislaus State								6
Totals	12	11	6	12	10	12	12	75
Future member
UC Merced								5

Other sponsored sports by school

School		Men					Women
		nowrap	Track & Field Indoor	Volleyball	Water Polo		Wrestling	Beach Volleyball	Rowing	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	nowrap	Track & Field Indoor	Water Polo
Cal Poly Humboldt					MPSF			GNAC
Cal State Dominguez Hills											IND
Cal State East Bay									PCSC			WWPA
Cal State Los Angeles		IND					IND			PWC	IND
Cal State Monterey Bay												WWPA
Stanislaus State										PWC	IND
San Francisco State					MPSF						IND
UC Merced			TBA	WWPA							TBA	WWPA

CCAA championships

School	CCAA Championships [7]
Cal Poly Pomona	58
Chico State	52
Cal State Los Angeles	34
Cal State Dominguez Hills	31
Cal State San Bernardino	24
Sonoma State	14
Cal Poly Humboldt	11
Stanislaus State	9
Cal State Monterey Bay	9
San Francisco State	1
Cal State East Bay	0
Cal State San Marcos	0

Basketball

See also: CCAA men's basketball tournament.

Football

Season	Champion	Record
1939	San Jose State	3–0
1940	San Jose State	3–0
1941	Fresno State San Jose State	2–0–1
1942	Fresno State	2–0
1943	No champion	—
1944	No champion	—
1945	No champion	—
1946	San Jose State	4–0
1947	Pacific (CA)	5–0
1948	San Jose State	5–0
1949	San Jose State	4–0
1950	San Diego State	3–0–1
1951	San Diego State	4–0
1952	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	4–0

Season	Champion	Record
1953	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	5–0
1954	Fresno State	4–0
1955	No champion	—
1956	No champion	—
1957	No champion	—
1958	Fresno State	4–1
1959	Fresno State	5–0
1960	Fresno State	5–0
1961	Fresno State	5–0
1962	San Diego State	5–0
1963	San Diego State	4–1
1964	Cal State Los Angeles	5–0
1965	Cal State Los Angeles	5–0
1966	San Diego State	5–0
1967	San Diego State	5–0

Season	Champion	Record
1968	Fresno State	4–0
1969	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	2–0
1970	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	3–0
1971	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	3–0
1972	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo UC Riverside	3–0
1973	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	4–0
1974	UC Riverside	4–0
1975	UC Riverside	4–0
1976	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	2–0
1977	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	2–0
1978	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	2–0
1979	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	2–0
1980	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	2–0
1981	Cal State Northridge	2–0

NCAA championships

School	Team			Individual			Appearances
	width=45	Men	width=45	Women	width=45	Total	width=45	Men	width=45	Women	width=45	Total	width=45	Men	width=45	Women	width=45	Co–ed	width=45	Total
align=center style=	Cal Poly Pomona	5	7	12	10	15	25	87	75	0	162
align=center style=	CSU Dominguez Hills	1	2	3	0	1	1	26	46	0	72
align=center style=	CSU East Bay	1	1	2	16	6	22	41	28	0	69
align=center style=	CSU Los Angeles	4	0	4	34	37	71	77	79	0	156
align=center style=	CSU Monterey Bay	1	0	1	0	0	0	9	11	0	20
align=center style=	CSU San Bernardino	0	1	1	1	0	1	25	29	0	54
align=center style=	CSU San Marcos	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
align=center style=	Chico State	6	0	6	52	7	59	131	85	0	216
align=center style=	Cal Poly Humboldt	1	4	5	10	8	18	55	58	0	113
align=center style=	San Francisco State	1	0	1	15	4	19	70	39	0	109
align=center style=	Sonoma State	2	1	3	0	0	0	42	63	0	105
align=center style=	Stanislaus State	0	0	0	4	7	11	51	47	0	98

Conference facilities

School	Baseball Stadium	Capacity	Basketball Arena	Capacity	Soccer/ Track & Field Stadium	Capacity
Cal Poly Humboldt			Lumberjack Arena	2,000	Redwood Bowl & College Creek Field	7,000 N/A
Cal Poly Pomona	Scolinos Field	1,000	Kellogg Arena	3,000	Kellogg Field	2,000
Chico State	Nettleton Stadium	4,200	Acker Gymnasium	1,997	University Soccer Stadium & Chico State Stadium	3,800 6,000
Cal State Dominguez Hills	Toro Field	500	Torodome / Dave Yanai Court	3,602	Toro Stadium	3,000
Cal State East Bay	Pioneer Field		CSUEB Physical Education Complex	3,500	Pioneer Stadium	5,000
Cal State LA	Reeder Field	500	Eagle's Nest Arena	3,400	Jesse Owens Track	5,000
Cal State Monterey Bay	CSUMB Baseball/Softball Complex		The Kelp Bed	1,000	CSUMB Soccer Complex	660
Cal State San Bernardino	Fiscalini Field & San Manuel Stadium	2,000	Coussoulis Arena	4,140	Coyote Premier Field	300
Cal State San Marcos	CSUSM Baseball Field	1,000	The Sports Center	1,400	Mangrum Track & Soccer Field
Stanislaus State	Warrior Baseball Field	1,500	Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena	2,000	Warrior Stadium & Al Brenda Track	2,000
San Francisco State	Maloney Field	100	Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza	2,000	Cox Stadium	5,000
Sonoma State	Seawolf Diamond	Open	The Wolves' Den	2,000	Seawolf Field	2,000
UC Merced			Hostetler Court	600	Bobcat Field

See also

• Big West Conference, a Division I conference that consists predominantly of California schools. Of its 11 current members, nine (Hawaii and UC Irvine being the exceptions) are former members of the CCAA.
• California Pacific Conference, an NAIA conference that consisted entirely of California schools from its formation in 1996 until 2012.
• Golden State Athletic Conference, an NAIA conference that consisted entirely of California schools from its formation in 1986 until 2012.

Notes and References

1. Web site: NCAA Division II WebPages . . 2008-09-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080609013459/http://www.siue.edu/ATHLETIC/d2/conf.html . 2008-06-09 . dead .
2. Web site: Quick Facts. CCAA. 2008-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20081019134827/http://www.goccaa.org/Sports/ccaa/2006/quickfacts.asp?nl=1&tab=ccaa. 2008-10-19. dead.
3. Web site: Commissioner's Office. CCAA. 2008-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20081019134822/http://www.goccaa.org/Sports/ccaa/2006/adminhq.asp?nl=4&tab=ccaa. 2008-10-19. dead.
4. Web site: NCAA Champions from the CCAA. CCAA. 2008-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20081019134837/http://www.goccaa.org/Sports/championships/2006/ncaa_champs_ccaa.asp?nl=11&tab=champs. 2008-10-19. dead.
5. California Collegiate Athletic Association Set to Add University of California, Merced. University of California, Merced . November 14, 2023 . November 14, 2023.
6. As of July 6, 2019. Web site: Term Enrollment summary.
7. Web site: All-Time CCAA Champions. CCAA. 2014-11-25.