- Utah Valley leaves the WAC for the Big West on July 1, 2026, competing in 13 league-sponsored sports while wrestling stays affiliated with the Big 12.
- Sami Blackett, Alyvia Jaffa, UVU Volleyball connect back to Utah Valley University and the wider volleyball picture.
- The story is backed by 5 sources and a visible last-verified date.
June 21, 2026
June 21, 2026
4 min / 812 words
5 official links
Utah Valley is changing conferences. On July 1, 2026, the Wolverines join the Big West as a full member, leaving the Western Athletic Conference after more than a decade. Starting with the 2026-27 academic year, Orem's program competes in a league that stretches up and down the West Coast — the first time Big West competition has touched Utah since Utah State's membership ended in 2005.
Utah Valley announced the move on June 4, 2025, and confirmed it through both its athletics department and university communications. UVU joined the WAC in 2013 and won 33 regular-season and tournament championships in the league before deciding to leave.
What the move is and when
UVU becomes a full Big West member on July 1, 2026, joining a lineup that includes Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, CSUN, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and California Baptist. With more than 46,800 students, Utah Valley becomes the largest university in the Big West on arrival.
The Wolverines will compete in 13 Big West-sponsored sports: 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, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball. The Big West does not sponsor wrestling, so UVU's wrestling program continues to compete in the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate rather than moving with the rest of the department.
What changes for recruiting and visibility
For recruits, the pitch shifts from the WAC to a coastal mid-major with a different competitive and television profile. UVU's most-watched programs carry the move. UVU men's basketball walks into a league with NCAA Tournament pedigree among its members, and the women's programs gain a new regional rotation.
Volleyball is one of the clearest beneficiaries. UVU volleyball entered 2025 with real local roots — Sami Blackett and Alyvia Jaffa are among the in-state players who give the Wolverines a Utah identity heading into the change. A Big West schedule puts those players in front of California crowds and recruiting pipelines the WAC did not reach as directly.
Travel and rivalries
Geography reshapes the calendar. The WAC spread UVU's travel across the Mountain West and into Texas; the Big West concentrates it on the West Coast, with most members in California. That trades some familiar regional opponents for new ones, but it also gives Utah Valley a defined coastal footprint rather than a scattered national map.
The move does not arrive cleanly. The WAC filed a lawsuit in district court in Tarrant County, Texas, alleging UVU refused to pay a contractually obligated exit fee of $1 million. The dispute was temporarily resolved when Utah Valley deposited the $1 million into a court-ordered escrow account. The exit terms are the unglamorous mechanics behind a headline move, and they explain why the transition has not been frictionless.
The bigger Utah picture
Utah Valley's jump is one piece of a busy realignment year for the state. At the top level, BYU and Utah compete in the Big 12, and Utah State is moving from the Mountain West to a rebuilt Pac-12 for 2026 — see Utah State's move to the Pac-12. At the FCS level, Weber State, Southern Utah, and Utah Tech are converging on one league — see how all three Utah FCS programs are joining the Big Sky.
Layer Utah Valley's Big West membership on top, and the state's Division I map is being redrawn at every level at once. UVU's piece is distinct: as a non-football program built on basketball, volleyball, soccer, and Olympic sports, it is the Utah school most reshaped by a coastal league rather than a regional or rebuilt one.
What to watch in year one
The first season will set the tone. A new opponent list, a coastal travel map, and a wrestling program that stays behind in the Big 12 all land at once in 2026-27. UVU spent more than a decade building a WAC resume; starting this year, the Wolverines are a Big West story.
## Key facts: - Move: Utah Valley leaves the WAC and joins the Big West on July 1, 2026 (2026-27 academic year) - Announced: June 4, 2025 - Sport count: UVU competes in 13 Big West-sponsored sports; wrestling stays in the Big 12 (the Big West does not sponsor it) - Big West members on UVU's arrival include Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, CSUN, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and California Baptist - Scale: With 46,800-plus students, UVU becomes the Big West's largest university; first Big West presence in Utah since Utah State left in 2005 - Exit terms: UVU deposited a disputed $1M WAC exit fee into a court-ordered escrow account - Sources: Utah Valley University, Utah Valley Athletics, The Big West, Deseret News, KSL
