UC San Diego’s athletic department said Saturday that it will hold on Monday a “very special announcement that demonstrates the campus’ continued growth and upward trajectory.”

Those scheduled to speak include San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jerry Sanders, and Tritons Athletic Director Earl Edwards.

They didn’t put that group together to announce a holiday bake sale.

The news is expected to be that UCSD has been accepted into the Big West Conference, and that begins the process of the school rising up to Division I status in athletics.


Edwards declined to comment Saturday.

In April, UCSD was surprised and disappointed when the Big West’s board of chancellors and presidents voted against accepting the Tritons. It was the second rejection of UCSD — the first coming in 2010.

In May 2016, UCSD students voted overwhelmingly to approve a fee hike that would fund Division I athletics, specifically with a move into the Big West. In January, the UCSD faculty approved the rise to Division I with support of 62 percent when only a simple majority was required.

A super majority of seven “yes” votes from the nine member schools of the Big West to issue an invitation to UCSD, and in April, the Tritons reportedly received either four or five, depending on the sources who spoke to the Union-Tribune.


The voting was thought to be divided by where the schools were from. The conference consists of four UC schools (Irvine, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Davis) and four Cal State schools (Long Beach, Fullerton, Northridge, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), and Hawaii, which was the last school to be admitted in 2012.

For UCSD to now have been accepted, and if Hawaii voted in its favor, at least two of the Cal State schools would have had to alter their votes.

Time was critical to UCSD’s bid because the result of the student vote will expire in September 2018. With no resolution, the school would have had to decide if holding another student vote was viable.

Once accepted into a conference, it’s still a long road to full Div. I status. The move takes at least six years — two to elevate athletic scholarships to minimum levels, followed by a four-year transition period before achieving full-fledged status that allows postseason participation.


After the result of the April vote, Edwards said, “It’s a high level of disappointment. Obviously, we were hoping to be accepted right away.

“I’ve been in this business for 30-plus years. When you look at athletics and realignment and new membership, there are a lot of things that take place. It’s not uncommon for us to find ourselves in the position we’re in.

“We are still going to pursue moving to Division I with the hope that things will change in the relatively near future.”

At the time, Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell said he didn’t know when the conference would reconsider UCSD’s application.


“There is no plan to do so, " Farrell said. “At the same time, I learned a long time ago, you never say never in this business.”


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tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutleonard