SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The MPSF announced today that six institutions will join the conference in the upcoming 2026-27 season. UC Santa Barbara joins five other returning schools for conference competition, including CSU Bakersfield, Seattle U, UC San Diego, the University of Denver, and University of San Diego.
 
The MPSF's 2027 swimming & diving championships will feature a total of 24 teams; 16 women and eight men. This will be the largest MPSF championship in their history. UC Santa Barbara competed in the MPSF men's competition from 2015-2024 and, on the women's side, as an original member from 2011-2024. The Gaucho men won back-to-back MPSF titles in 2017-18 and never finished lower than third place in their 10 seasons in the conference. UCSB owns the MPSF's all-time 500 Free record from 2019 (Logan Hotchkiss). The women's squad has recorded seven second-place MPSF team results and has never finished lower than fourth. They hold the two oldest all-time female MPSF records from 2014 in the 100 and 200 Fly (both by Andrea Ward).

QUOTABLE
"We are proud to welcome these exceptional programs back to the MPSF," says MPSF Commissioner Fort Mellis. "Their rich history in our conference and commitment to excellence will elevate an already outstanding championship experience. We look forward to seeing them compete as part of a record-setting field in 2027."

"Being back in the MPSF will be an exciting opportunity for our program," said Head Swim Coach Jaclyn Rosen. "The conference is deep, talented, and highly competitive, which will challenge us to continue raising our standards. I look forward to seeing how many personal-bests we achieve, the memories we create together, and the NCAA qualifiers and all-conference performances that emerge along the way."