ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - A new era of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) competition begins today. (Aug. 27)
 
The 2026 season officially gets underway Thursday, Aug. 27, with men's and women's soccer and volleyball teams throughout the conference taking the court and pitch from Washington to Texas and all the way out to Michigan. Men's and women's cross country will follow in the coming weeks as the CCAA begins its first year as a 14-member conference with the additions of Fresno Pacific and Menlo College.
 
The expanded membership comes as the CCAA continues to establish itself among the strongest and deepest conferences in NCAA Division II. Eight CCAA teams finished the 2025 fall season in the national top 25, led by Cal Poly Pomona women's soccer at No. 2 and Stanislaus State men's soccer at No. 5. Chico State, Stan State, and Cal Poly Pomona all had nationally ranked cross country teams, while Cal State Dominguez Hills men's soccer was ranked in the top 10 and finished among the nation's best.
 
That national presence is already carrying into 2026. Cal Poly Pomona women's soccer enters the year ranked No. 2 in the country, Stanislaus State men's soccer is No. 5, and Cal State Dominguez Hills is No. 20. In volleyball, new CCAA member Fresno Pacific opens the season at No. 11 nationally and defending CCAA Tournament champion Cal State San Bernardino is No. 25.
 
A new look for the CCAA
Fresno Pacific and Menlo officially became CCAA members on July 1, bringing the conference to 14 institutions stretching throughout California.
 
The Sunbirds immediately add another established NCAA Division II program to the conference. Fresno Pacific will compete in all five CCAA fall championship sports - men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball - and is immediately eligible for postseason competition.
 
Menlo begins its first season of CCAA competition while continuing through the NCAA Division II membership process. The Oaks will compete in men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball this fall.
 
The additions create some of the largest championship fields in conference history. Women's soccer and volleyball will each feature 14 programs. Men's soccer will have 13 teams, while 11 men's and 13 women's programs will compete in the cross country championships.
 
Watch the CCAA on FloCollege
CCAA fans will once again be able to follow conference action throughout the season on FloCollege as the league enters the third year of its exclusive media rights partnership with FloSports. All CCAA games - from regular-season home contests through conference postseason play - are available live and on-demand through FloCollege.
 
FloCollege offers three subscription options for fans in 2026-27. The Standard Plan is available for $119.88 annually or $24.99 monthly, while students with a valid .edu email address from a FloCollege partner institution can subscribe for $95.88 annually or $12.99 monthly. The Family Plan is $155.88 annually and allows up to three users to stream simultaneously from three different locations.
 
Subscribers can watch live or on-demand on mobile devices and connected TVs. FloCollege now partners with more than 20 conferences and is one of the nation's largest distributors of NCAA sports.
 
Women's Soccer
Cal Poly Pomona enters 2026 with another championship-caliber team after being selected as the favorite in the CCAA preseason coaches poll. The Broncos have won three consecutive CCAA regular-season championships. They are coming off an 18-3-3 season in which they won the NCAA West Region and returned to the national semifinals one year after capturing the 2024 NCAA Division II Championship. CPP's No. 2 national preseason ranking is the highest of any CCAA fall program entering the year.
 
There will be plenty of competition behind the Broncos. Defending CCAA Tournament champion Cal Poly Humboldt was picked second in the preseason poll after making the program's first NCAA postseason appearance as a member of the CCAA. Cal State San Bernardino, Stanislaus State and Chico State completed the preseason top five, while Stan State, Cal State LA, Chico State and Cal State San Marcos all received votes in the national preseason rankings.
 
Men's Soccer
Few races were tighter than CCAA men's soccer in 2025, and the coaches expect another battle for the top spot this season.
 
Two-time defending regular-season champion Cal State Dominguez Hills was selected as the preseason favorite with 155 points, narrowly edging defending CCAA Tournament champion Stanislaus State with 148. Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State LA and Cal State San Bernardino rounded out a top five in which each team received at least one first-place vote.
 
The national rankings also reflect that depth. Stan State begins the season ranked No. 5 after going 17-2-1, winning the CCAA Tournament and reaching the third round of the 2025 NCAA Championship. Cal State Dominguez Hills enters at No. 20 after winning its second straight regular-season championship and going unbeaten in CCAA play. At the same time, Cal State San Bernardino received votes after returning to the NCAA postseason last year.
 
Volleyball
The CCAA once again appears poised to be one of the deepest volleyball conferences in the West.
 
Two-time defending regular-season champion Cal Poly Pomona was selected as the preseason favorite with 188 points, followed by defending CCAA Tournament champion Cal State San Bernardino with 178. Cal State LA was third, while newcomer Fresno Pacific immediately made its presence felt by collecting two first-place votes and finishing fourth in its first CCAA preseason poll. Stanislaus State, San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay followed in fifth through seventh.
 
Fresno Pacific also enters its first CCAA season with the conference's highest national ranking at No. 11 in the AVCA Division II preseason poll. Cal State San Bernardino begins at No. 25, with Cal Poly Pomona receiving votes.
 
Cross Country
The target remains firmly on Chico State in both CCAA cross country races.
 
The Wildcats were selected as the preseason favorite on both the men's and women's sides after sweeping the conference championships in 2025. The Chico State men enter the season chasing a remarkable 24th consecutive CCAA title after also winning the NCAA West Region championship and finishing No. 15 nationally last season. The Wildcat women have captured three consecutive CCAA crowns and finished eighth at the 2025 NCAA Championships.
 
The coaches unanimously selected Chico State atop the men's preseason poll with 121 points and all 11 first-place votes. Cal Poly Pomona was second, followed by Cal State San Marcos and Stanislaus State. Fresno Pacific immediately broke into the top five in its first CCAA poll.
 
Chico State was nearly unanimous on the women's side as well, collecting 12 of 13 first-place votes and 168 points. Stanislaus State earned the other first-place vote and was selected second. Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Marcos followed, while Fresno Pacific also debuted among the top five.
 
The conference will have plenty of national credentials returning to the course after six CCAA cross country teams finished in the national top 20 in 2025. Chico State, Stanislaus State and Cal Poly Pomona represented the conference on the women's side, while Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona also finished among the top 20 men's programs.
 
The fall championship season will return to Southern California when Cal State San Bernardino hosts the CCAA Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships presented by Pollo Campero on Saturday, Nov. 7. It will be the first time the championship has been held at the CSUSB course since 2018.
 
Conference season
With the non-conference portion of the schedule setting the stage, the race for CCAA championships will begin in early September.
 
CCAA play will open in volleyball on Thursday, Sept. 10, when Cal Poly Humboldt hosts Stanislaus State and Chico State travels to Cal State Dominguez Hills. The remaining 10 teams will begin their conference schedules the following day, launching the first CCAA volleyball race to feature Fresno Pacific and Menlo College.
 
The conference soccer slate will follow one week later, with CCAA play kicking off on Friday, Sept. 18. From there, the chase for postseason positioning will carry through the fall as the conference's expanded membership brings new matchups and additional competition to an already deep group of programs.
 
With two new members, nationally recognized teams and championship races spanning the state, the 2026 fall season will offer a new look for the CCAA while maintaining the level of competition that has long defined the conference. Fans can follow the action throughout the season on GoCCAA.org/FloCollege, from the opening weeks of conference play through the crowning of the CCAA's fall champions in November.