PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY

ABOUT PEPPERDINE

Perched above the Pacific in Malibu, California, Pepperdine University fields 13 varsity sports across a West Coast Conference footprint that emphasizes both competitive excellence and academic rigor. Founded in 1937 and serving 10,030 students, the institution operates one of the nation's most geographically distinctive athletic campuses. The Waves compete across traditional NCAA Division I sports including baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, golf, cross country, and swimming & diving, with both men's and women's programs represented across most sports.

Pepperdine athletics reflects the university's commitment to intercollegiate competition within the selective West Coast Conference, a league known for balancing athletic success with institutional academic standards. The Waves roster construction typically emphasizes student-athlete development, particularly in sports like men's and women's tennis and swimming & diving, where the Pacific Coast location provides natural advantages. Women's volleyball, women's soccer, and women's basketball serve as program anchors within the conference structure. Baseball and men's basketball similarly represent traditional revenue opportunities within the Waves' athletic portfolio.

Athletic operations at Pepperdine maintain regional prominence despite competing in a conference without a football program, positioning the institution as a multi-sport competitor focused on Olympic and emerging NCAA sports rather than the traditional NCAA Division I football model that dominates West Coast conference athletics.