A Heavy West Conference (BWC) is an NCAA-affiliated Section We major college athletic conference that erstwhile sponsored Division I personally-The American football.

Background
A history of the conference is linked to it of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), which was founded in 1969 and renamed the Large West Conference within 1988. A Large West Conference dropped sponsorship of football at a prevent of the 2000-2001 year, however continues to actively sponsor more sports.

Beginning within fall of 2001, six of a septet leftover football-swimming members parted company by having a BWC: Arkansas State, Idaho, Just released Mexico State, & Northerly Texas joined the Sun Belt Conference; Boise State joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC); and Utah State became an independent prior to joining a Sun Belt Conference around fall 2003. Idaho & Utah State retained Large West membership inside sports otherwise football until each officially left for the WAC in July 1, 2005. the departure of Idaho & Utah State leaves a Large West a California-simply conference; one schools, 5 come within Greater Los Angeles, two others come upright north or even west of that locality, & sole Pacific is outside of Southern California. This might vary when UC Davis, in the Sacramento locality, becomes the to the full member.

a seventh football-swimming member, Cal Poly, stayed in the Heavy West for more sports & became a Section I personally-AA independent prior to joining the freshly Great West Football Conference in 2004.

Charter (original) members
California State University, Fullerton - from 1988 to 1992 California State University, Fresno - from 1988 to 1991 Long Beach State - from 1988 to 1999 University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) - from 1988 to 1996 New Mexico State University - from 1988 to 2000 University of the Pacific - from 1988 to 1996 San José State University - from 1988 to 1996 Utah State University - from 1988 to 2005

Current members (and years joined)
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (1996) [=Cal Poly] California State University, Fullerton (1974) California State University, Northridge (2001) California State University, Long Beach (1969) [=Long Beach State] University of the Pacific (1971) University of California, Irvine (1977) [=UC Irvine] University of California, Riverside (2001) [=UC Riverside] University of California, Santa Barbara (1969 & 1976) [=UCSB] University of California, Davis (beginning 2007-2008 school year) [=UC Davis]

Former members
Arkansas State University - from 1993 to 1996 and from either 1998 to 2001 Boise State University - from 1996 to 2001 University of Idaho - from 1996 to 2005 Louisiana Tech University - from 1993 to 1996 University of Nevada - from 1996 to 1999 University of North Texas - from 1996 to 2000 Northern Illinois University - from 1993 to 1996 University of Southwestern Louisiana - from 1993 to 1996 (okay, University of Louisiana at Lafayette) Utah State University - from either 1988 to 2005

Current conference affiliations (for football) of former members
Mid-American Conference (1) - Northern Illinois Mountain West Conference (1) - UNLV Sun Belt Conference (3) - Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, & Northward Texas Western Athletic Conference (7) - Boise State, Fresno State, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Up to date Mexico State, Nevada, San Jose State, & Utah State

Sports
When of fall 2002, a BWC sponsors intercollegiate competition within men’s baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, and women’s volleyball.