Northwest Athletic Conference

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Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC)

The Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) is a nonprofit, two-year college athletic league in the Pacific Northwest. It includes 37 public member colleges, mostly in Oregon and Washington. It is the largest two-year college conference in the United States. It is not part of the NJCAA, but NWAC athletes sometimes compete in NJCAA events, such as wrestling.

Overview
- Founded: 1946 (originally the Washington State Junior College Athletic Conference)
- Region: Pacific Northwest
- Headquarters: Longview, Washington
- Commissioner: Marco Azurdia
- Members: 37 full public member schools

Sports
NWAC sponsors intercollegiate athletics for men and women. It began with football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, and golf; wrestling was added in 1963, cross country in 1965, and soccer in 1974. Women’s athletics expanded in the 1970s.

History highlights
- 1946: Formed as WSJCAC
- 1955: Columbia Basin College joins
- 1961–1964: Legislature changes allowed more schools; renamed WAACC in 1964
- 1970: Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon) joins; becomes NWAACC
- 1983: Oregon OCCAA merges with WAACC to form a larger NWAACC
- 2014: Renamed Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC)
- Growth: Expanded to 37 member schools
- 2023–24: North Idaho College leaves; by 2024–25, remaining sports move toward NJCAA alignment

Membership
The NWAC comprises public two-year colleges in the Pacific Northwest, with a history of collaboration with Canadian and other regional institutions. Recent changes reflect closer alignment with the NJCAA for many sports.