The Big West Conference

What The Big West Conference does

The Big West Conference is a nonprofit NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference founded in 1969 and headquartered in Irvine, California, that organizes and governs intercollegiate competition across 11 member institutions in California and Hawaii. The conference supports multiple men's and women's sports programs — including basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, softball, and track and field — and provides the competitive framework that produces conference champions and automatic NCAA tournament qualifiers. Its operating technology footprint is a Sidearm Sports-powered content website (bigwest.org) that delivers schedules, scores, news, standings, and links to live event streaming.

The conference generates revenue through two primary streams: broadcasting and media rights (anchored by a partnership with ESPN+ for live event streaming) and sponsorship/marketing rights (managed through Van Wagner). Member institution dues provide a stable recurring base. Fan and content engagement is driven through digital channels — the official website, the #BIGWEST and #MOMENTS social campaigns, and direct integration with the ESPN+ viewer. The customer base is structurally narrow: 11 NCAA member universities that function as both governing principals (the conference is member-controlled) and primary consumers of the conference's competitive scheduling, NCAA qualification, and media-rights services.

The organization's strategic posture is that of a mid-major conference leveraging NCAA membership, longstanding regional rivalries, and broadcast aggregation to monetize a portfolio of sports rights on behalf of its members. Its most notable recent maneuver is a collaborative partnership with Pac-12 men's soccer (announced 2026-04-01) intended to expand cross-conference scheduling and programming. The conference is not a commercial enterprise; revenue and financial details are not publicly disclosed, and the entity operates as an association-style nonprofit within the broader NCAA ecosystem.

Name

The Big West Conference

Legal name

Big West Conference

Website

https://bigwest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Big West Conference is a nonprofit NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference governing 11 member universities in California and Hawaii across multiple sports, generating revenue through ESPN+ broadcasting rights and Van Wagner-managed sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collegiate Athletic Conference Services

NAICS

Spectator Sports (7112)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Collegiate Athletic Conferences & Associations (MPAKACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

Keywords

• NCAA Division I athletics
• Collegiate sports conference
• Conference championships
• Sports broadcasting rights
• Athletic program governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Broadcasting and Media Rights: The conference generates revenue through broadcasting agreements, with ESPN+ serving as a primary streaming partner for live sports content distribution to viewers.
2. Sponsorship and Marketing Rights: Partnerships with media and marketing entities such as Van Wagner for sponsorship and marketing rights revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Big West Conference is a nonprofit NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference that organizes competitive sports programs, conference championships, and NCAA tournament qualification opportunities for its 11 member universities and colleges. It generates revenue through broadcasting rights via ESPN+, sponsorship and marketing partnerships (including Van Wagner), and member dues, while distributing live and on-demand content to fans through ESPN+ and the official website bigwest.org.

Product overview

The Big West Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that provides sports coverage and broadcasting services for its member institutions. The organization operates bigwest.org as its official website to display scores, schedules, news, and provide access to ESPN+ broadcasts. No distinct product modules, sub-products, or named service offerings were identified in the source data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Big West Conference NCAA Division I Athletics Competition Organized collegiate athletic competition across 11 member institutions in NCAA Division I sports including men's and women's basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, softball, and track and field, with conference championships and NCAA tournament qualification pathways.
• Big West on ESPN+ Live Streaming Live and on-demand streaming of Big West Conference sporting events through the ESPN+ broadcasting partnership, enabling fans to access men's and women's basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, and other conference competitions.
• Big West Conference Official Website (bigwest.org) Official conference digital platform providing schedules, scores, standings, news, member institution information, and ticketing access for fans and member schools.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Pac-12 Men's SoccerflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026The Big West Conference has entered into a collaborative partnership with Pac-12 men's soccer. This agreement enables expanded competitive scheduling and collaborative programming between the two conferences in men's soccer.
• NCAAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Big West Conference is an NCAA Division I athletic conference. The NCAA serves as the governing body for collegiate athletics, establishing rules, standards, and tournament structures that the Big West Conference operates within.
• ESPN+coreGTM or Marketing PartnerESPN+ is the primary broadcasting and streaming partner for Big West Conference content. The partnership enables live streaming of conference sporting events including basketball, soccer, baseball, and volleyball to a broad audience through the ESPN+ platform.
• Van WagnerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVan Wagner is a sports media and marketing company that works with collegiate athletic conferences for sponsorship and media rights. The Big West Conference has a partnership with Van Wagner for marketing and sponsorship services.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• West Coast Conference: An NCAA Division I conference with West Coast member institutions. The WCC competes for the same regional sponsorship and media-rights market as the Big West and broadcasts on ESPN-affiliated platforms under a similar model.
• America East Conference: An NCAA Division I conference with a similar membership size, sport portfolio, and mid-major commercial profile. Operates on comparable governance and media-rights structures, making it a benchmark for the Big West's economics.
• Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN): An NCAA Division I conference of comparable scale focused on non-Power schools across multiple sports. ASUN mirrors the Big West's mid-major positioning, championship inventory, and tournament-qualification pathway.
• Big Sky Conference: An NCAA Division I mid-major conference in the Western U.S. The Big Sky operates with a comparable multi-sport governance model, regional footprint, and mid-major economics — directly paralleling the Big West's competitive structure.
• Western Athletic Conference (WAC): An NCAA Division I conference headquartered in the Western U.S. with overlapping geography to the Big West. Shares the mid-major sponsorship ecosystem and ESPN+ broadcasting infrastructure.
• Colonial Athletic Association (CAA): An NCAA Division I conference with a similar breadth of sports and mid-major commercial profile. The CAA competes for the same sponsorship dollars and ESPN+ media-rights value as the Big West.
• Big South Conference: An NCAA Division I conference sponsoring similar Olympic and revenue sports. The Big South shares the Big West's mid-major media-rights profile, ESPN+ broadcasting presence, and tournament-qualification economics.
• Southland Conference: An NCAA Division I conference operating with a comparable membership count and multi-sport portfolio. Operates under similar NCAA governance and competes for the same mid-major media-rights value.

Broad incumbents

• Conference USA: An NCAA Division I Group of Five conference with a broader geographic footprint. Conference USA shares the Big West's mid-major-plus media-rights structure and ESPN+ carriage, anchoring competitive comparisons.
• Mountain West Conference: A larger NCAA Division I conference with Group of Five status. The Mountain West competes in a similar geographic and media-rights footprint (CBS Sports/ESPN+ deals), and represents a 'next tier' benchmark for the Big West's commercial trajectory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BigWestSports
• Facebookfacebook.com/BigWestConference
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-big-west-conference

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Big West Conference