MPSF Adds Men's Rowing for Record 15th Sport
Photo by: San Diego Athletics
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) has announced the addition of men’s rowing to its list of sponsored sports beginning with the current 2024-25 season, marking the record-setting 15th current Intercollegiate Olympic sport in the conference and exceeding the previous all-time high of 11 during the 2010-13 academic years as well as the most recent 2021-24 three-year stretch. Six sports have been added to the MPSF since the fall of 2021, four of which are making their debut in the current academic year. The addition of MPSF Beach Volleyball was announced in November 2023 as its then-record 12th sport, followed by the September 2024 announcement of men’s and women’s wrestling. MPSF Men’s Rowing will feature Division-I programs from California, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego, Santa Clara, Stanford, UC San Diego, and Washington. The inaugural MPSF Men’s Rowing Championship is scheduled for May 17-18, 2025, at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
Dating back to 1923, Washington won its 20th Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship this past June at Mercer Lake in New Jersey, including the program’s eighth title under Head Coach and Team USA Olympic Men’s Eight Coach Michael Callahan. The Huskies also won four races in the 2024 Pac-12 Men's Rowing Championship at Lake Natoma en route to the program’s 41st conference title. Washington, which competes in the Big Ten Conference for the majority of its sports, has previous affiliations with the MPSF in men’s soccer from 1992-99 and men’s and women’s indoor track and field from 1993-2021. The Huskies’ Beach Volleyball squad is also making its debut in the conference this year.
California placed third at the IRA National Championship and second at the Pac-12 Championship in 2024. The Golden Bears won national and conference titles in 2022 and 2023, increasing their totals to 19 national championships and 30 conference titles. Cal also finished with its 40th overall top-three national finish. Stanford, meanwhile, produced a pair of third-place boats during the Pac-12 Regatta. Stanford placed 14th overall nationally last year, while its second Varsity Eight rowed to victory in the national ‘C’ final. The intercollegiate programs from California and Stanford have transitioned to the ACC as their primary home this fall. The Cardinal has the most MPSF membership of any school, which also competes in beach volleyball, men’s and women’s water polo, men’s gymnastics, men’s volleyball, and artistic swimming. Men’s Rowing will be California's fifth current MPSF sport, following its participation in beach volleyball, men’s and women’s water polo, and men’s gymnastics.
Oregon State, which picked up an overall third-place Pac-12 finish last year, saw its 2V8 boat advance to the 2024 national ‘C’ final. The Beavers have competed in every IRA Championship since 2013. The MPSF recently announced the return of Oregon State to the MPSF in women’s indoor track & field, while many of its athletic programs are embarking on a two-year affiliate membership with the West Coast Conference (WCC). Oregon State was also an original MPSF member in men’s soccer (1992-99).
UC San Diego competed in the 2024 Western Sprints Conference Championship, and recorded a trio of podium finishes, highlighted by a first-place Varsity-8 outcome. The Tritons proceeded to make an eighth-straight IRA Championship appearance. Primarily affiliated with the Big West Conference, UC San Diego is a current MPSF member in fencing, and formerly competed in MPSF Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving from 2018-24 as well as men’s volleyball from 1993-2017.
The University of San Diego’s Varsity Four finished in 10th-place at the 2024 IRA National Championships, a nine-spot improvement from the previous season. The Toreros have also been original MPSF members in women’s swimming & diving since 2010-11.
Gonzaga and Santa Clara will be making their first-ever appearances as MPSF members. The Bulldogs finished in the top-three in each of the Western Sprints races in 2024, highlighted by a first-place JV8 boat. They have made 11 all-time appearances in the IRA Championships. The Broncos, making their eighth appearance in the last nine years, finished 23rd at the national regatta with their Varsity-8 boat, 22nd with their 2V8, and 18th with their 3V8.
In addition to six sports, 44 teams and 17 schools have been added across the entire conference since the 2021 hiring of MPSF Executive Director Foti Mellis, “The MPSF is thrilled and honored to be adding the sport of men’s rowing," remarks Mellis. “We hold a profound appreciation for the importance of adding one of the original collegiate sports, boasting a rich history of over 130 years of national championship competition. This addition is significant, and we are eager to welcome eight esteemed programs into the MPSF. Furthermore, we acknowledge that the governing body of the sport, the Intercollegiate Rowing Association, predates the NCAA and has promoted rowing in the United States since 1894. These impressive standards will serve as a foundation for establishing ourselves as one of the top rowing conferences in the nation. The MPSF is dedicated to upholding its tradition of offering enhanced competition and championship opportunities for its student-athletes, and we eagerly anticipate our championship in May.”
The 15 intercollegiate sports lined up in the MPSF for 2024-25, in addition to men’s rowing, are beach volleyball, men’s volleyball, men’s and women’s water polo, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s wrestling, fencing, and artistic swimming. The MPSF entered the 2024-25 academic year with 117 total national championships, with its 111 NCAA titles leading the nation amongst Non-Power Four Conferences. The MPSF won four NCAA titles in each of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.
MPSF Men’s Rowing information, including specific championship details, will be forthcoming on the conference website’s championship central page at mpsports.org. Follow the MPSF on social media @MPSFSports.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT THE ADDITION OF MPSF MEN’S ROWING
"We are excited to have our conference championship under the MPSF banner and to potentially grow the regatta to include all of the west coast programs. It will be a great showing of competitive depth for rowing on the west coast!"
-Scott Frandsen, University of California Head Coach
“We are excited that our men’s rowing program is joining the MPSF. It will allow our student-athletes to continue to compete at the highest level, and I look forward to watching our team maintain its tradition of vying for national championships.”
-Jim Knowlton, University of California Director of Athletics
“We have worked together with the other west coast rowing teams to create a great championship with the MPSF. This will create a very competitive regatta, pitting all the strongest teams in the west together on one stage to cap off the regular season in May. I am excited for how this will help grow the sport and show off a very high level of racing.”
-Gabe Winkler, Oregon State University Head Coach
“This move to the MPSF will give our team and university regional and national recognition. Our goal is to help generate exposure for UC San Diego men’s rowing and create a bigger brand for west coast programs. This is a step in the right direction for our continued growth as a program. Being aligned with the MPSF will allow us to compete at the highest stage in west coast men’s rowing. We’ll be putting our name right up there with some of the best programs in the country. We are grateful for the opportunity that this move brings and are excited to enter into this new chapter for UC San Diego Men's Rowing.”
Peter Simeone, UC San Diego Head Coach
“We are thrilled to bring our men’s rowing program into the MPSF. The idea of being involved with a bona fide conference with high-level competition will provide a great experience for our coaches and scholar-athletes, as well as our university as a whole. The timing of this move couldn’t be better with our department’s overall push into Division-I. Competing against other top-notch institutions on the west coast will help with our national recognition and branding.”
-Earl W. Edwards, UC San Diego Director of Athletics
“We are excited to announce that we will be joining the MPSF as our home conference. The MPSF has had a storied history of hosting championships for more than 30 years. Keeping our traditional race schedule allows us to stay true to the history of West Coast rowing and the unique rivalries that make collegiate rowing special. We are grateful for the support of the administration at UW, as well as other West Coast schools, that have made this alignment possible. We are looking forward to Cal coming to the Montlake Cut on April 26 for The Dual.”
-Michael Callahan, University of Washington Head Coach
“I feel this is a good move for our program from a competitive standpoint. It also has a huge athlete experience component and it gives us a continued path to our national championship. We look forward to working with the MPSF.”
-Dan Gehn, Gonzaga University Head Coach
“We are excited to have Gonzaga men’s rowing join the MPSF, which includes an elite group of institutions and programs. We look forward to a high-caliber championship and partnership with the MPSF.”
- Shannon Strahl, Gonzaga Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Operating Officer
“This is a monumental move for our program and for west coast men’s varsity rowing as a whole. We feel like this move provides only positive outcomes for our program: one more automatic bid for the IRA National Championships available to the west coast, the opportunity to continue having the Western Sprints champion recognized and the creation of an eight-team conference that features some of the best collegiate rowing teams in the country, all while having a competitive racing format.”
-Bart Thompson, University of San Diego Head Coach
"The University of San Diego Men's Rowing program is excited and energized to join the [MPSF] as a part of the restructured league. This is without a doubt one of the if not the most competitive leagues in the country and we look forward to competing on a national level on a regular basis. We are truly excited for this unique opportunity and grateful for the opportunity."
-University of San Diego Vice President and Director of Athletics Kimya Massey