An Introduction to the Northwest Conference
Nine small colleges of the Pacific Northwest, and the oldest west of the Rockies
The Northwest Conference is a 9-school Division 3 conference in the Pacific Northwest, consisting of programs from Washington and Oregon, mostly along the I-5 corridor. All 9 schools are private institutions with a Christian mission and values at their core. Whitman College is the only one to not play football, which gives them a tidy 8 for football.
The origins of the conference date back to 1926, where it was known as the Pacific Northwest Conference. The founding schools included Linfield College, Pacific University, the College of Puget Sound, Whitman College, Willamette University, and the College of Idaho (the only founding member to no longer be a part of the modern Northwest Conference).
The name remained until 1984 where the PNWC merged with the Women's Conference of Independent Colleges and was renamed to the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges, which was now a co-educational athletic conference.
Up until this point, the conference had existed as a member of the NAIA, but in 1996 the conference moved to full membership at the Division 3 level of the NCAA, and with this move came a final name change to the Northwest Conference, or NWC.
The conference has seen few changes in the past 27 years; Seattle University was briefly a member for the 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years before moving to Division 2, and Menlo College of California was a football associate member for 5 seasons from 2006 through 2010-11.
The scheduling situation lacks some stability at this time. Though they play a 7-game conference schedule, which eliminates the need for a championship game, the desire for 24 out of conference games creates a matchup scarcity problem in the region. In a perfect world, you could pair the conference with the SCIAC, but they only have schedule room for 12 out of conference games, so that hardly fills the gap. Some schools may only play 9 total games, some will play an out of conference game against a conference opponent, and some may choose to make scheduling agreements with schools further away. This can be a great opportunity for competition and travel experience, but it does add operating expense to the program.
There is another option that seems rarely talked about, and if I didn't know better, I would say that it feels like NCAA broadcasts are prohibited from mentioning the existence of the NAIA, but the NWC will also occasionally schedule matches against NAIA football programs in the region such as Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon.
I do feel that with 10 game schedules being the Division 3 standard, the inability or unwillingness to schedule a 10th game feels like an operational failure, and I would really like to see a bit more standardization and long-term agreements for the conference.
George Fox has managed to nearly do it all for 2023 where they will host Howard Payne of the American Southwest Conference, travel to NWC opponent Pacific for a new annual out-of-conference match they're calling the Oregon Cup, and travel down to Claremont, California to face the CMS Stags. But who are these schools, and who is George Fox...
George Fox University Bruins - Newberg, OR
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 2,341
2020 Census Population - 25,138
Two years before Whittier College was founded in California, the Friends Pacific Academy was born in Newberg in 1885. The institution became Pacific College in 1891 in contrast to nearby Pacific University, which must have been a slightly confusing situation for many in the region. This naming blunder endured from 1891 until 1949 where the school moved to recognize the founder of the Quaker movement, George Fox, with renaming the school to George Fox College. Then in 1996, alongside a merging of Western Evangelical Seminary into the school, the name changed a final time to George Fox University.
George Fox University has the highest undergraduate enrollment of the conference with over 2,300 in 2021/22, though Pacific Lutheran and Whitworth were not far behind.
After 45 years without football, the George Fox football program hit the field once again in 2014, bolstered by some of the highest financial support in Division 3.
They’re coming off a very strong 8-2 campaign and will enter 2023 with aspiration of unseating Linfield as NWC Champion, though that’s a task easier said than done.
Lewis & Clark College Pioneers - Portland, OR
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 2,088
2020 Census Population - 652,503
Though the school has been in Portland since 1938, the origins of Lewis & Clark College were in Albany, Oregon, about 70 miles to the south by the I-5. Like many small schools along the west coast, the school was created to provide secondary as well as higher education, in this case by Presbyterian pioneers of the Willamette Valley.
Originally, the institution was known as Albany Academy from 1858 to 1866 before briefly being renamed Albany Collegiate Institute, then shortened to Albany College in 1867. Though the school moved locations in 1938, it wasn’t until 1942 that it adopted the name Lewis & Clark College in recognition of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The 137-acre campus is heavily forested and combined with classic brickwork has been named in the top ten “Most Beautiful Campuses”. The school is also invested in keeping it that way as 100% of the power for the school comes from wind generation.
Unfortunately, the school has struggled with a divide between athletes and non-athletes; some conflict has been a result of misunderstandings around how finances are managed, and a sense that the athletic program is given preferential treatment.
I’m sure concerns like this are hardly exclusive to Lewis & Clark College, but apparently the conflict has been notable enough to be documented on Wikipedia.
Linfield University Wildcats - McMinnville, OR
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,233
2020 Census Population - 34,319
Without a doubt, Linfield Football has been the dominant force in the Northwest Conference for decades. Since 2000, they’ve been the outright NWC Champion 17 times in 22 seasons (2020 excluded due to COVID) with another partial share in 2001. As well, the football program has had a winning record every season since 1956, including NAIA Division II Championships in 1982, 1984, and 1986 and an NCAA Division III Championship in 2004.
This is also one of the oldest schools of the conference, dating back to 1858 as the Baptist College of McMinnville. This was shortened to McMinnville College in 1898, and then to Linfield College in 1922 in memory of Baptist minister, Reverend George Fisher Linfield. It wasn’t until 2020 that the school changed to the Linfield University moniker.
Pacific University Boxers - Forest Grove, OR
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,584
2020 Census Population - 26,225
The second oldest school of the Northwest Conference, Pacific began its life as the Tualatin Academy, which was more of an orphanage and school built to care for the orphans of the Applegate Trail party. The school has an affiliation with the United Church of Christ, though that relationship is more of a working relationship than a tightly knit affiliation. It was only 5 years later that the name would be changed to Pacific University as the institutional focus shifted.
One of the major focuses of the university is their College of Optometry which dates back to 1945 when they merged with the North Pacific College of Optometry. It is one of only 21 schools in the US and Canada which offer a doctorate in the field.
The Pacific Boxers football program ceased operation after the 1991 season before being resurrected for the 2010 season. In that time, it has been one of the better financed football programs in Division 3, though that hasn’t directly translated into success on the field. I’m curious to see what sort of fanfare is given to the Oregon Cup matches beginning this fall as it appears that Pacific will face the only football program younger than its current iteration, George Fox, in an annual non-conference tilt.
Pacific Lutheran University Lutes - Parkland, WA
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 2,271
2020 Census Population - 38,623
The first Washington entry in this article, the university was founded in 1890 by Norwegian Lutherans. The schools has remained strongly connected to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America through to modern times.
The school has a history of mergers. Though founded as a university, the school had functioned primarily as an academy before merging with Columbia College in 1920 after suspending operations for 2 years. This generated the original title of Pacific Lutheran College. Nine year later, Pacific Lutheran would merge with Spokane College, which was also founded as a Norwegian Lutheran institution.
Like many schools, Pacific Lutheran benefitted greatly from the post-WW2 G.I. Bill, which caused a boom in enrollment and helped to balance the enrollment ratio, which had been mostly women during war times.
In recent times, the school has been ranked highly in innovation, undergraduate teaching, and a strong value school in the west region by the US News College and University Rankings.
The Pacific Lutheran football program has found success between the peaks of Linfield’s continued success, resulting in NAIA Division II Championships in 1980, 1987, and 1993, as well as an NCAA Division III Championship in 1999. It’s unclear when the PLU Athletics nickname became the Lutes, but it appears it was popularly used throughout the period where they were officially “Greyhounds” or “Gladiators” since 1926.
University of Puget Sound Loggers - Tacoma, WA
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,835
2020 Census Population - 219,346
The geographic rival to the Pacific Lutheran Lutes had a very rocky adolescence. Though founded in 1888 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, the lack of an endowment and financial stability led to a struggle to pay employees and it relocated 3 times in 13 years. For a short period, the school merged with Portland University; this campus later became the University of Portland.
It was 1903 when the school was re-opened and re-incorporated; with different trustees, the institution was now the University of Puget Sound, and this would be the first step towards stability.
Strong religious values at the core of an educational institution can either give it stability as those of the chosen faith will flow towards it, but in a more liberal world after the 60’s and 70’s, some institutions struggled with the desires of youth to break away from tradition. In 1980, the decision was made to separate the school financially with the Methodist Church and introduce an independent board of trustees to take over financial responsibility. There were also moves to focus on undergraduate education including phasing out all off-campus programs, and selling their law school to Seattle University.
Whitman College Blues - Walla Walla, WA
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,524
2020 Census Population - 34,060
Whitman College is the sole member of the Northwest Conference who doesn’t sponsor football, and hasn’t since 1977. I have no expectation that this will change as there doesn’t appear to be many rumblings of support, and an odd number of teams in the conference is never ideal for scheduling.
The school’s origins go back to 1859 as a seminary, and it wasn’t until 1882 that it became a full degree-granting institution and ceased having a religious affiliation in 1907.
This transition came about out of necessity more than desire, however. In 1869, the seminary’s principal resigned, and afterwards struggled to attract students and pay their teachers. The decision was made that it simply was not viable to continue as a prep school, but they took a chance on becoming the only college in the region. Clearly, this decision paid off as the school has remained in session since and hosted the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament this Spring.
Whitworth University Pirates - Spokane, WA
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 2,250
2020 Census Population - 228,989
Along with Pacific Lutheran, Whitworth is the youngest school in the conference, incorporated in 1890. Its history actually goes back a little further, as the institution began its existence as the Sumner Academy in 1883 by George F. Whitworth, a short distance east of Tacoma. However, this location created conflict and pressures due to proximity to modern-day University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University and so the Presbyterian-affiliated institution relocated near the eastern border of Washington in Spokane in 1914.
The school has enjoyed a somewhat stable existence since, merging with Spokane Junior College in 1942 due to war-time financial difficulties for the junior college, and changing its name from Whitworth College to Whitworth University in 2007.
The 200-acre campus is noted for its pine trees as well as open spaces, and their football stadium has been given the appropriate name of the Pine Bowl. The site dates back to 1914 and the original Pine Bowl was built in the late 1930’s and has been kept in fine condition through regular maintenance and improvements, such as the installation of a FieldTurf surface in 2017.
The school is quite well regarded by the U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Whitworth in their top 3 for Best Undergraduate Teaching (West), Best Value (West), Best Regional University (West), and Best Colleges for Veterans (West). The football program has been playing since 1904, only missing seasons due to World War 1 & 2. They’re also the only NWC program to win a conference championship and go to the NCAA Division 3 playoffs other than Linfield since 2009.
Willamette University Bearcats - Salem, OR
2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,159
2020 Census Population - 175,535
Not only the oldest college of the Northwest Conference, but as far as I’ve been able to find, Willamette University is the oldest college or university west of the Rockies as it opened its doors in 1842. This is especially notable as the institution began its life as coeducational, with its first graduate being a woman. After going through many of these older private universities between the NWC and SCIAC, it seems that progressive and inclusive policies were more common than in other regions, even dating back to the 1800s.
Like many of these private schools, Willamette was known by other names long, long ago. Going back to 1842, the school was called the Oregon Institute, and then from 1852-1870 was given the name Wallamet University. The modern spelling of Willamette was adopted in 1870 and has survived unchanged since.
I would be remiss to exclude arguably the school’s greatest connection to world history. In December of 1941, the Willamette football team traveled to the University of Hawai’I to play Hawai’I in the Shrine Bowl. They would lose 20-6, but this is a minor footnote for their trip to paradise.
The following morning, Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Quickly mobilized and trained within hours, the Willamette Bearcats had now joined the war effort.
After two weeks of digging trenches and laying barbed wire, the team was evacuated aboard the SS President Coolidge where they continued to assist the medical staff and prepare lifeboats, should the need arise. With the United States joining the Allies war effort, the football operations were suspended and most of the team continued to serve in the war.
Willamette’s location across the street from the Oregon State Capitol building allows for unique involvement in state-level politics for political science students.
How to Watch
Much like the SCIAC, the Northwest Conference has their own streaming network backed by Hudl/BlueframeTech: NWC Network. At this time, Linfield does not appear to be a part of the network and is instead streaming their athletic programs through their own site Linfield Sports Network.
Old Habits Are Hard to Break
As mentioned above, the Linfield Wildcats have been the dominant football program of the Northwest Conference since the turn of the century, and it would be surprising if this were to change overnight.
The Wildcats have only lost 2 conference games since 2009, so the slightest crack in their armor would feel like big news; a single conference loss could open the door for a team to unseat them and reach the playoffs, at least for one season.
The one school that seems committed to building a program to properly rival Linfield is George Fox, and I look forward to their matchup on October 14th in McMinnville.
Final Thoughts
The Northwest Conference is a group of old, stable institutions of education, with histories that are intertwined with the formative growth of the Pacific Northwest. These campuses represent the stereotypical image that many have of the region, with lushly wooded areas and a lack of overbearing modern structures.
With regards to the potential for growth, a 10th school would be nice, but I don’t see any academically/historically/athletically aligned programs in either Washington or Oregon that would be an easy addition. Sometimes it’s best to just leave something alone when it’s going well.
I hope that these schools continue to support and invest in their streaming infrastructure as it does create a possible avenue for generating revenue through advertisements. I don’t know what level of viewership the conference saw this past season, but given that the top indoor football leagues which stream through YouTube rarely reach 1000 viewers at any point in time but are able to sell ads, I would say that the potential is there.
I realize that the growth and adoption of pure streaming has been slow, but these things rarely happen in a linear fashion. There’s also the idea that by keeping production on the university side, with consolidated distribution through a conference network, there’s the opportunity for students studying - or with an affinity for - digital media and/or journalism to get work experience supporting these broadcasts.
Branch out, relax, and take in Division 3 football of the Pacific Northwest.
