Finally!
We have waited years for this to happen. Friday, a tweet by ESPN’s Pete Thamel confirmed it – DU is moving from the Summit League to the West Coast Conference on July 1, 2026. The Denver Post followed the tweet with an article citing the tweet and the move of nine DU sports to the West Coast Conference (WCC). Denver will be joining a conference of equals – largely private schools with similar size, funding and academic profile in alignment with the University. The move will increase DU’s academic profile and give the University greater visibility to the valuable California student market while basketball most certainly will receive a boost in national interest.
Sources: The University of Denver has accepted an invitation to join the West Coast Conference. It will join on July 1 of 2026 and be a member in nine sports. Denver currently plays in the Summit League. pic.twitter.com/Rk2pSvzkR0
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 31, 2025
We have been told by reliable sources that WCC membership had been seriously considered, supported, and encouraged at various times by DU’s Board of Trustees. The move is likely to positively impact both athletics and academics with more closely aligned institutions.
LetsGoDU has encouraged this move for years with numerous articles. Perhaps our most comprehensive reason for the move was in a series of articles we published, The End of Division I Athletics, Part 2. We argued that the future, ultimately, is the merger of equals, competing against the Power Four conferences. A group of largely private schools with common values would form in athletics. Friday’s news confirms just such a move.
In addition to the newly added University of Denver, the 2026 WCC members will include: University of San Francisco, Saint Mary’s College of California, Loyola Marymount University, Pepperdine University, University of Portland, Seattle University, University of the Pacific, and Santa Clara University. UC San Diego joins the following year. Gonzaga, BYU, and Grand Canyon University have matriculated to different conferences.
Hockey will remain in the NCHC as the WCC does not offer the sport. The same goes for lacrosse (BIG EAST), gymnastics (Big 12), and, of course, skiing (RMISA).
The WCC has a press conference at 11:00 am MT today to make the announcement, while DU has its own presser scheduled for 2:15 pm MT. More to follow as we catch our breath on this breaking story.
It’s about time!!
A long overdue and important move for the University, that many DU fans and administrators have wanted since DU went back to full D-I status in 1999.
The Summit was never DU’s long term destination, and all of the other league schools knew that.
This is going to be a big help from an academic, institutional fit, recruiting (both athletes and regular students) and the DU brand perception standpoint. It also helps from a travel standpoint with less trips to the Dakotas. I don’t see a huge uptick in ticket sales, but at least we’ll have much more in common with the schools in the WCC.
The reality is that the WCC needed to backfill in 2026, and DU gives the conference a new TV and recruiting market, an established $50 million budget school and easy non-stop flights from all league destinations.
Well done to all who made it happen.
Outside of the Big East pipe dream, this is the best outcome we could hope for…
Smart move – now bring back baseball!
Yes, bring bzck baseball
Awesome news! Too bad it took Gonzaga and some other bigger fish leaving to get DU there but a much better fish than Summit!
Class move. It validates the term “student athlete”
FINALLY! A conference we can get excited about and have some real rivalries!! This is great news!
Amen
Grand Canyon left the WAC not the WCC
Grand Canyon joined the WCC for a month and left for the Mountain West Conference. They are being sued for breach of contract by the WCC.
I have nothing against Nebraska, South Dakota or North Dakota, but public schools in this area were not fitting DU’s “profile”. Local Denver fans were not much interested in being a spectator against these teams. Men’s soccer should be super excited! This will be a real positive for overall student admissions, athlete recruiting and DU’s image. Men’s basketball will need to turn up the heat as schools in the WCC are very competitive!! I’m wondering if we will the hardwood floor put back in Magness Arena for some games. Media exposure will also be quite a bit better. This is a great move!!
Berlo mentioned at the presser that the Athletic Department will look at making Magness Arena basketball ready when attendance warrants.
B ball in Magness. Yes!!!
Lets build DU basketball!
Absolutely fantastic news!