Big West Conference Basketball History
The conference began competition in 1969 as the
Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) and adopted
the Big West Conference name in 1988.
Schools including Long Beach State, UNLV, Utah State, Fresno State,
Pacific, New Mexico State and UC Santa Barbara have all played major
roles in the conference's men's basketball history.
The conference tournament began in 1976. Seasons before that year
therefore have no tournament champion listed.
Regular-Season and Tournament Champions
| Season |
Regular-Season Champion |
Conference Record |
Tournament Champion |
| 1969-70 | Long Beach State | 10-0 | — |
| 1970-71 | Long Beach State | 10-0 | — |
| 1971-72 | Long Beach State | 10-2 | — |
| 1972-73 | Long Beach State | 10-2 | — |
| 1973-74 | Long Beach State | 12-0 | — |
| 1974-75 | Long Beach State | 8-2 | — |
| 1975-76 | Cal State Fullerton / Long Beach State | 6-4 | San Diego State |
| 1976-77 | Long Beach State / San Diego State | 9-3 | Long Beach State |
| 1977-78 | Fresno State / San Diego State | 11-3 | Cal State Fullerton |
| 1978-79 | Pacific | 11-3 | Pacific |
| 1979-80 | Utah State | 11-2 | San Jose State |
| 1980-81 | Fresno State | 12-2 | Fresno State |
| 1981-82 | Fresno State | 12-2 | Fresno State |
| 1982-83 | UNLV | 15-1 | UNLV |
| 1983-84 | UNLV | 16-2 | Fresno State |
| 1984-85 | UNLV | 17-1 | UNLV |
| 1985-86 | UNLV | 16-2 | UNLV |
| 1986-87 | UNLV | 18-0 | UNLV |
| 1987-88 | UNLV | 15-3 | Utah State |
| 1988-89 | UNLV | 16-2 | UNLV |
| 1989-90 | New Mexico State / UNLV | 16-2 | UNLV |
| 1990-91 | UNLV | 18-0 | UNLV |
| 1991-92 | UNLV | 18-0 | New Mexico State |
| 1992-93 | New Mexico State | 16-2 | Long Beach State |
| 1993-94 | New Mexico State | 12-6 | New Mexico State |
| 1994-95 | Utah State | 14-4 | Long Beach State |
| 1995-96 | Long Beach State | 12-6 | San Jose State |
| 1996-97 | Nevada / Utah State / New Mexico State / Pacific | — | Pacific |
| 1997-98 | Utah State / Pacific | — | Utah State |
| 1998-99 | Boise State / New Mexico State / UC Santa Barbara | — | New Mexico State |
| 1999-00 | Utah State / Long Beach State | — | Utah State |
| 2000-01 | UC Irvine | 15-1 | Utah State |
| 2001-02 | UC Irvine / Utah State | 13-5 | UC Santa Barbara |
| 2002-03 | UC Santa Barbara | 14-4 | Utah State |
| 2003-04 | Pacific / Utah State | 17-1 | Pacific |
| 2004-05 | Pacific | 18-0 | Utah State |
| 2005-06 | Pacific | 12-2 | Pacific |
| 2006-07 | Long Beach State | 12-2 | Long Beach State |
| 2007-08 | Cal State Fullerton / CSUN / UC Santa Barbara | 12-4 | Cal State Fullerton |
| 2008-09 | CSUN | 11-5 | CSUN |
| 2009-10 | UC Santa Barbara / Pacific | — | UC Santa Barbara |
| 2010-11 | Long Beach State | — | UC Santa Barbara |
| 2011-12 | Long Beach State | — | Long Beach State |
| 2012-13 | Long Beach State | — | Pacific |
| 2013-14 | UC Irvine | — | Cal Poly |
| 2014-15 | UC Davis | — | UC Irvine |
| 2015-16 | UC Irvine / Hawai'i | — | Hawai'i |
| 2016-17 | UC Irvine | — | UC Davis |
| 2017-18 | UC Davis | — | Cal State Fullerton |
| 2018-19 | UC Irvine | — | UC Irvine |
| 2019-20 | UC Irvine | — | No tournament — COVID-19 |
| 2020-21 | UC Santa Barbara | — | UC Santa Barbara |
| 2021-22 | Long Beach State | — | Cal State Fullerton |
| 2022-23 | UC Santa Barbara / UC Irvine | — | UC Santa Barbara |
| 2023-24 | UC Irvine | — | Long Beach State |
| 2024-25 | UC San Diego | — | UC San Diego |
| 2025-26 | UC Irvine | 15-5 | Hawai'i |
Big West Tournament Championship Leaders
| School |
Championships |
Years |
| UNLV |
7 |
1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991 |
| Utah State |
6 |
1988, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 |
| Long Beach State |
5 |
1977, 1993, 1995, 2007, 2012, 2024 |
| Pacific |
5 |
1979, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2013 |
| UC Santa Barbara |
4 |
2002, 2010, 2011, 2021, 2023 |
| Fresno State |
3 |
1981, 1982, 1984 |
| New Mexico State |
3 |
1992, 1994, 1999 |
| Cal State Fullerton |
4 |
1978, 2008, 2018, 2022 |
| Hawai'i |
2 |
2016, 2026 |
| UC Irvine |
2 |
2015, 2019 |
| San Jose State |
2 |
1980, 1996 |
| San Diego State |
1 |
1976 |
| UC Davis |
1 |
2017 |
| Cal Poly |
1 |
2014 |
| UC San Diego |
1 |
2025 |
Notes
The conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic
Association before adopting the Big West Conference name.
Tournament champions are listed beginning in 1976, when the conference
began holding a postseason men's basketball tournament.
The 2020 Big West tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Historical school names have been standardized where practical:
CSUN refers to Cal State Northridge, UC Santa Barbara replaces UCSB,
and San Jose State replaces abbreviated references to San Jose.
