With the birth of Pac-12 women’s lacrosse and the reclassification of the Saint Mary’s team from Division I to club, the MPSF was left with three teams to compete in 2018 – Fresno State, San Diego State and UC Davis. The conference will maintain its championship, but will not be eligible for an automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse tournament.

MPSF executive director Al Beaird hopes to add at least three more teams in the near future, which would regain its AQ status with six teams.

The three existing teams’ coaches want to remind the lacrosse community that West Coast lacrosse is strong by adding top teams to their schedules, including Boston College at San Diego State March 10, Albany at Fresno State March 17 and UC Davis at James Madison March 28.

“The conference, while small, is very competitive,” said San Diego State coach Kylee White.

Each coach shared her thoughts on the state of the MPSF with US Lacrosse Magazine:

Fresno State coach Jess Giglio

“We’re three good programs. That’s the thing – We want to be as attractive as possible for another conference, especially with all these new programs adding and some new conferences adding. We’re trying to find the best fit for us, expanding whom we’re playing. We’re trying to be as attractive as possible to let other schools know we’ll improve their RPI and that we’re competitive. I really hope people realize how much it means for young women to have the opportunity to play lacrosse at the Division I level, especially on the West Coast. There are some great programs on the West Coast and we need a permanent home.”

San Diego State coach Kylee White

“We are looking for more teams to add or for conferences that are realigning to add us. Ideally, we would really like to see some West Coast schools (non-Pac-12) add, [like those in the Mountain West conference]. … The three of us (Davis, Fresno and SDSU) are all in great positions with our universities and administration and the programs will continue to exist even without a NCAA bid. There have been many schools in the past that have gone on to play in the tournament while being independent and I don’t think that is out of the question for us. What is most important is that we are all still striving to give our athletes the best college experience both on and off the field.” 

UC Davis coach Suzanne Isidor

“As a new coach on the West Coast, I have been incredibly impressed with level of play both at the collegiate and high school levels. … UC Davis, Fresno and SDSU will have some great battles. All three teams have rosters full of great athletes from both coasts. … [We] are confident that the three teams we have will represent our universities, our conference and the West Coast very well.”