NWAC Celebrates 80th Anniversary
LONGVIEW, Wash. – As the year 2026 begins, the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) celebrates the 80th anniversary of the NWAC.
In 1946, Although athletic competition between junior colleges existed in the 1930's, the first structured league and championship events in men's sports first came about when the Washington State Junior College Athletic Conference was formed in 1946. The nine charter members of the WSJCAC were Centralia, Clark, Everett, Grays Harbor, Lower Columbia, Olympic, Skagit Valley (known then as Mt. Vernon JC), Wenatchee Valley and Yakima Valley. Columbia Basin became the tenth member in 1955. In 1964 the WSJCAC was renamed the Washington Athletic Association of Community Colleges (WAACC).
In 1963, it was about this time when community college athletics came to life in the State of Oregon. In the winter of 1963, five schools met to exchange ideas on the possible formation of a league. The Oregon Community College Athletic Association then began playing in 1963-64 with Blue Mountain, Southwestern Oregon, Central Oregon, Clatsop, and Treasure Valley as charter members. The conference more than doubled in size when Clackamas, Lane, Mt. Hood, Umpqua and three others joined in 1968-69.
In 1970, The WAACC was renamed the NWAACC when Mt. Hood left the OCCAA to join their Washington neighbors in 1970. It was during the seventies that women's sports started to grow. Previously they were governed by the Northwest College Women's Sports Association. Women's sports were combined with men's sports when the umbrella organization of the NWAACC was formed for the 1978-79 season.
The job of handling both the men's and women's athletics was too much for volunteer athletic directors who performed the task in the past. After the 1978-79 season, a five-member committee from the conference hired Frank Bosone as their first Executive Director. Bosone retired in 1992 and was succeeded by Dick McClain. In 2011, Marco Azurdia assumed the role of Executive Director.
1983 saw northwest community college athletics forever changed when seven schools from the OCCAA joined the NWAACC for the 1983-84 season. The merger between the Washington and Oregon colleges has helped the NWAACC become a strong organization. Since 1984, nine other colleges have added intercollegiate athletics and/or became NWAACC members.
In 2014, The Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) is renamed to Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).
80 years later, the Conference now consists of 37 schools, offering competition and championships in 13 sports, serving close to 400,000 students. NWAC is more than sports and continues its efforts to provide great experiences for student athletes by cultivating character, competition, and community