Editor's Note: On July 13, the NCAA announced that Westmont College Athletics has successfully completed the first year of reclassification to Division II membership and has advanced to the second year of transition. The move means that Westmont will begin competing in the PacWest Conference beginning with the 2023-24 season. Commemorating the accomplishment, Jeff Raymond has written a story celebrating the heritage of Warrior Athletics and looking forward into a new era for Westmont. Raymond has served as Westmont's compliance coordinator for the past two years. From 1997-2004 Raymond served as Westmont's first full-time sports information director.

By Jeff Raymond

When a baseball soared through an early-June night sky in Lewiston, Idaho, and then settled softly into the right fielder's glove, an era came to an end for Westmont College Athletics. The simple play set off a raucous national championship celebration for the Warrior baseball team, but also brought to a close a long-standing relationship with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
 
Westmont enters a new athletics era this fall when Warrior teams begin competition in the NCAA Division II and formally join the PacWest Conference. The road to this NCAA move began over 80 years ago when a fledgling men's basketball program represented Westmont in the early 1940's. That road has included numerous peaks, a few valleys and thousands of changed lives along the way.
 
"The Westmont Athletic programs have enjoyed a rich history with the NAIA," said current Westmont Director of Athletics Robert Ruiz. "It is a partnership that has produced profound memories, experiences and opportunities for our student-athletes over many years. Though our valued time with the NAIA is closing, our decades of membership will remain a rich part of Warrior Athletics history."
 
Westmont and the NAIA share a unique history, having actually grown up together. James Naismith, the creator of the modern game of basketball, helped to establish the National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament in 1937 in Kansas City, an event that spurred the eventual creation of the NAIA. In that same year, Ruth Kerr founded a liberal arts college in Los Angeles committed to the historic Christian faith. When that young institution outgrew its original facilities, Westmont College moved to Santa Barbara in 1945.
 
"I had the privilege to coach and lead the athletic department for 17 years," said Chet Kammerer, who served as men's basketball coach and athletic director at Westmont from 1975-1992. "During that tenure, membership in the NAIA was a good fit for our athletic department. Through the years, many former student athletes have shared with me how competing at the NAIA national level was a highlight in their college experience."
 
The men's basketball team was the first Westmont representative on the national stage when the Warrior squad competed in the 1957 NAIA National Tournament. In the 66 years since that appearance, Westmont's impact at the national level of the NAIA has been significant. The numbers alone are impressive: 10 NAIA national titles; 33 NAIA top-four national finishes; 637 NAIA All-American performers.
 
10 NATIONAL TITLES
The recent triumph in baseball capped off a string of six straight decades with at least one NAIA national title for Westmont. The men's soccer program was the first to hoist a championship trophy with a win in 1972. Women's tennis followed 10 years later, taking top honors in 1982.
 
The women's soccer team claimed its first NAIA title in 1985, setting the stage for the greatest string of success in Warrior history more than a decade later. A national title in 1999 and then three straight championships in 2001, 2002 and 2003 propelled the women's soccer program to new heights. The stretch of success culminated with a classic seven-overtime, 157-minute victory in the 2003 championship match in front of 3,000 home fans at Santa Barbara's La Playa Stadium.
 
"To win a championship once is an experience of a lifetime," said Mike Giuliano, who coached the Westmont women's soccer team from 1993-2003. "To win four in five years is still beyond comprehension. The way those teams approached the games and training, and the relationships they cultivated with each other were special. I've had the privilege of coaching many great teams, but the Westmont teams of the early 2000s were just on a different level."
 
Another decade passed until the women's basketball team brought home the 2013 NAIA title and then put together a second championship run in the COVID-shortened 2021 season.
 
"I am so grateful for the years that Westmont has been in the NAIA" said Kirsten Moore, head coach of the Westmont women's basketball program since 2005. "The NAIA National Tournament experience has been life shaping for our players and coaches. The resiliency it takes to win five games in six days in route to a National Championship requires a level of grit that our Warriors will carry with them in life. Even in the years we fell short of our goals, the experience challenged us to grow, stretch and improve in hopes of a better result the following year."
 
33 TOP FOUR FINISHES
Perhaps even more impressive than the 10 championship trophies is the fact that Westmont teams have placed in the top four of the NAIA a grand total of 33 times, spread out among 11 different programs. Of the 12 long-term sports at Westmont—swimming and golf started in 2019—only women's track and field does not have a top-four team finish in the NAIA. That program, however, does boast 12 individual national champions and more All-Americans than any other Westmont sport.
 
Men's cross country began Westmont's top national finishes, ending fourth in the NAIA meet in 1968 and improving to third in 1969. Almost 30 years later, the women's cross country program put together a great three-year run, finishing fourth in 1995 and third in 1996 and 1997. The men's track and field team captured the fourth-place trophy in 2021.
 
In addition to a national title, the men's soccer team added a fourth-place finish in 1971 and a semifinal appearance in 1989. Women's soccer advanced to the semifinals in 1994, 1997 and 2005, and was the national runner-up in 2013, giving the program a Westmont-best of nine top-four NAIA finishes.
 
Men's basketball ended in fourth place in 1984, made the semifinals in 1999 and ended as runner-up in 2015. Women's basketball reached the semifinals in 2015 and was the runner-up in 2018.
 
Men's tennis finished third in both 1997 and 2013. The volleyball program progressed to the semifinals in 1990, 1993 and 1999, and finished as national runner-up in 2019.
 
637 ALL-AMERICANS
It would be impossible to describe the scope, breadth and impact of the All-Americans produced by Westmont in its athletic history. The hundreds of individual stories could fill volumes, ranging from the unlikely success of a walk-on athlete to the accomplishments of a top-level recruit.
 
What can be said is that the list of NAIA All-Americans spans the entire athletic department, with 13 sports contributing to the total. Track and field—by nature of the number of individual events and relays—tops all Warrior teams with 178 All-Americans for the women and 174 for the men. Included on that list is Westmont's first NAIA All-American, Dave Thoreson, who earned the honor in the high jump in 1962.
 
Women's soccer boasts 58 honorees, followed by men's soccer (48), women's swimming (34), women's tennis (29) and men's tennis (23). Women's cross country and men's basketball have each produced 20 All-Americans, while women's basketball (19), volleyball (17), men's cross country (12) and baseball (5) complete the list.
 
THE NCAA ERA BEGINS
The future for Westmont athletics is straight ahead, as the Warriors will soon take to the fields, courts, tracks, pools and courses as a NCAA Division II program. The men's soccer team will host Saint Martin's (Wash.) at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 31 in the first official Division II contest for Westmont. The women's soccer program kicks off 90 minutes later at Cal Poly Pomona, while volleyball begins the following day, September 1, in a tournament at Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
"The move to the NCAA marks a monumental moment for our athletic programs and the Westmont College community," said Ruiz. "We look forward to the new partnership in the PacWest conference and the opportunity to challenge ourselves in a new landscape."
 
Throughout this past season, Westmont athletics was able to compete in the NAIA while completing its first year of NCAA provisional status. Now, the Warriors move from the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC)—their home since 1986—to the NCAA Division II PacWest Conference. Another two years of provisional status lays ahead as the athletic department and teams adjust to the NCAA rules, protocols and expectations. During that period, Westmont teams will not be eligible for NCAA postseason play in any sport, although they could still capture regular season PacWest titles.
 
Much of the PacWest will look familiar for Westmont, with five current members that were formerly part of the GSAC. Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific and Point Loma moved from the GSAC to the PacWest in 2012, Concordia joined in 2015 and Biola followed in 2017. Another long-time GSAC member—Vanguard—is expected to make the move to Division II and the PacWest in 2024, along with more recent GSAC foes Jessup and Menlo. By the start of the 2024-25 academic year, the PacWest expects to include 14 members.
 
"NCAA Division II will undoubtedly challenge us to compete at our highest capabilities night in and night out," said Moore. "The PacWest is extremely deep from top to bottom and will require more from us to be successful throughout the duration of the season. We look forward to rekindling some of the great rivalries that Westmont traditionally has had."
 
In addition to the former GSAC foes, other current members of the PacWest are Academy of Art (San Francisco), Chaminade University (Honolulu), Dominican (San Rafael), Hawaii-Hilo (Hilo) and Hawaii Pacific (Honolulu).
 
"I commend the Westmont administration for leading the College into membership with the NCAA," said Kammerer. "The timing is right."
 
The next time a Warrior baseball player makes a game-ending catch in the spring of 2024, Westmont athletics will be further ingrained into the life of a NCAA Division II member. There are sure to be some bumps in the road and some growing pains as the process moves forward. Players, coaches and teams will need to adjust to new opponents, new schedules and an expected step up in the level of competition. Winning awards and gaining accolades—both for individuals and for teams—may take some time.
 
Fortunately, anyone associated with Westmont athletics can look back at the last 80 years and see the history of success. If the past—as they say—is a way to judge the future, Westmont and its NCAA athletics programs will rise to the challenge.