Cougar Baseball and Swimming Join Mountain West Conference as Affiliate Members

PULLMAN, Wash. (April 16, 2024) -- Washington State University Athletics has entered into a conference affiliation agreement to have their baseball and women's swimming programs participate in the Mountain West Conference, it was announced Tuesday. The agreement will begin July 1, 2024.
 
"Finding a home for our baseball and women's swimming programs has been a top priority for our athletic department and we appreciate the efforts of so many to get to this point," said WSU Interim Director of Athletics Anne McCoy. "This agreement offers both programs a competitive schedule in a west coast-based conference while providing a championship path for coming seasons.
 
"We are grateful for the patience shown by our student-athletes and coaches as we have navigated this process," McCoy added.
 
Affiliate status through the NCAA allows for member affiliates to compete for conference and national championships.
 
Cougar Baseball has a long and storied history, including four College World Series, 16 regional appearances, and its 2,801 all-time wins rank 13th in NCAA Division I history entering the 2024 season. Swimming is another program on the rise at Washington State, as the past two seasons, multiple teammates have qualified for the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. After breaking multiple schools records at this year's NCAA Championships, Emily Lundgren became WSU's first All-American since 2007.
 
In December of 2023, Washington State Athletics entered into a football scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference to provide six games, three home and three road, for the 2024 season.
 
That same month, WSU entered into an affiliate agreement with the West Coast Conference for 10 of its athletic programs. Those 10 include men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, rowing, soccer, tennis and volleyball.