University of Denver to join Seattle University in West Coast Conference
Oct 31, 2025, 4:00 PM
A Seattle University sign at one of the campus' entrances. (Photo courtesy of Seattle University)
(Photo courtesy of Seattle University)
The University of Denver will join the West Coast Conference (WCC) — which recently welcomed Seattle University — in July, becoming the league’s 11th member, the conference announced Friday.
“This is an exciting day for DU and an incredible opportunity to continue to advance our exceptional academic and athletic programs,” University of Denver Chancellor Jeremy Haefner said. “The excellence of schools that are part of the West Coast Conference is a perfect complement to DU and will help us continue to recruit the very best students and faculty.”
Seattle University Vice President for Athletics Shaney Fink welcomed the news, calling Denver’s athletics program “competitive” and praising the school’s “strong academic profile.”
“It’s great news for the West Coast Conference,” Fink told KIRO Newsradio on Friday. “On all fronts, it’s really exciting.”
“Having that kind of addition, where it’s still in the West footprint, but it expands it a little bit, gives more prospective students, more eyeballs on the conference,” Fink said. “The student athletes you’re looking to recruit are looking to be in the strongest conference they can, so being stable and having schools that are similar, all of this really helps in the process.”
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Seattle University, which joined the WCC earlier this year, will host Denver in a non-conference men’s basketball game Monday night at Redhawk Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
Denver’s Vice Chancellor for Athletics, Josh Berlo, said the Pioneers are “pumped up” for the matchup in Seattle.
“We’re gonna get to learn more pretty quickly how we start to match up with some West Coast Conference foes,” Berlo said.
Fink said joining the WCC has been a boost for Seattle U, increasing visibility for its teams both in person and on television.
“All of the reasons that we had our sights on the West Coast Conference, we’ve already seen those come into fruition,” Fink said. “Every one of our teams has had the highest attendance numbers during the [fall] season when we’ve been on the road, tons of alumni support, certainly more eyeballs.”
The WCC will also see a major change next summer when longtime member Gonzaga departs for the Pac-12 Conference.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
