This is something that I have been a little reluctant to dig into partly due to a lack of information, but there are a couple of athletic programs with a meaningful connection to the NCAA.
After coming across the apparent potential for Stanton University to mature into an NAIA-caliber school, it seemed worthwhile to see if there were other schools which could also feasibly build themselves up to joining the CalPac or GSAC.
Unfortunately, it is hard to call the SWS a real conference; perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a scheduling agreement with extra steps.
There is no website, email, or other contact information. The Twitter/X account is effectively dormant, and their Instagram appears to be the only source of centralized information. A number of the schools associated with the conference are also members of the USCAA or NCCAA, so let's break it down.
Justice College Lions - Chandler, AZ
Using their Instagram as a resource, it appears that administrative operation for the school began in 2019 where they announced that classes would begin in Fall 2020. They present as a strongly Christian school without any denominational qualifiers, much like Arizona Christian University which sits about 45 miles northwest of Justice College.
As of Fall 2023 the school is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) and offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in:
International Business and Social Entrepreneurship
Spiritual Formation & Christian Ministry
Social Justice & Global Development
Educational Studies
Counseling Psychology
There is also provisional license from the State Board of Arizona for Private Post-Secondary Education while the schools works towards registration with the US Department of Education.
There appears to be strong investment around the school with a well-sized campus that includes housing. The cost of attendance is also advertised as being quite affordable with a tuition cost of ~$3,750 per semester which is often reduced to $2,750 after scholarship as well as $2,500 per semester for on-campus housing. The school advertises only having 110 students on their website, but that's presented without any other details so it's hard to know how accurate that is.
The athletic program is a member of the NCCAA in addition to the SWS Conference and offers Men's & Women's Basketball and Soccer along with Women's Volleyball. This is a very strong foundation for an athletic program. There are very few details on their website, but photos appear to show that they have a basketball court on-campus, though it may not have spectator seating, and Google Maps suggests there is space for an on-campus soccer field, but I don't know if it's being used for that purpose as the team photo looks to have been taken on the Embry-Riddle Prescott recreational soccer field.
There are positive indications for the school and it appears they are moving forward with a clear plan. It will take further development before presenting as NAIA-eligible, but school leadership seems to be doing the right things to establish growth and stability.
California Miramar University Fighting Falcons - San Diego, CA
Curiously, the school’s athletic program appears to only offer Men's programs in Baseball, Basketball, and Soccer. The school is less than 20 years old, but it was born out of the purchase of assets from Pacific Western University, which was a somewhat fragmented and unaccredited business of questionable value.
There isn't a whole lot to say about CMU; they are classed as a for-profit school with an emphasis on distance/online education. The school is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission as well as being involved with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
It is unfortunate that the school doesn't sponsor any Women's sports, and I can't see them moving out of the fringes of collegiate athletics in the foreseeable future.
Bethesda University Flames - Anaheim, CA
Any discussion of the Bethesda Flames needs to begin with the fact that their Men's Basketball team is only the second program from outside the NCAA or NAIA (they're a member of the NCCAA in addition to the SWS Conference) to defeat NCAA D1 opposition twice as they beat Cal State-Northridge in 2016 and 2022.
The school was founded in 1976 and is a Christian university based on a Pentecostal Evangelical viewpoint. Outside of theological studies the school primarily offers programs in Business, IT, Education, and Music.
Like Justice College they are also accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools as well as the Association for Biblical Higher Learning and are approved to operate by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.
Bethesda is a more mature school than the rest of this list, but they still only reported undergraduate enrollment of 218 in 2021/22. Their EADA filings only go back to 2010 but in that time frame enrollment peaked at 235 for 2020/21 and hit a low of 164 in 2018/19.
Currently, their athletic program offers Baseball alongside Men's and Women's Basketball and Soccer, which is a fine foundation for an athletic program on the West Coast. Curiously, their EADA filings have omitted values for Women's Soccer for a number of years, but given that they report 67 participants on their Men's Soccer team, the values for the two teams may have been combined into one line item, which is not ideal. They claim a total expense of just under $600,000 for their athletic program, or around $2750 per student, which seems rather high, but only about 20%, or $120,000, was attributed to Operating Expenses, which seems like a more reliable figure for these unaudited reports.
As small of a school as Bethesda is, they would not be the smallest across the CalPac and GSAC, that honor goes to Providence Christian College, and they already compete against many NAIA members in the region. There may be concerns around the affordability of joining the NAIA or their general ability to compete, but this is a school that feels capable of moving up.
Navajo Technical University Skyhawks - Crownpoint, NM
It's hard to know where to begin talking about NTU as I feel too ignorant of the history and difficulties faced by the Diné people across the Navajo Nation to get too in-depth here.
Functionally, the school presents like a polytechnic college that may be seen in the NJCAA with a blend of short courses, 2-year, and 4-year offerings. In addition to its primary campus in Crownpoint, NM there are instructional sites in Chinle, AZ; Teec Nos Pos, AZ; Kirtland, NM; and Zuni, NM.
Much like the discussion of “food deserts” in low-income urban areas, schools such as Navajo Technical University fill an important role in what was previously an “educational desert” and create access to opportunities that were harder to come by in the past.
Accreditation for the school comes from a myriad of organizations due to the specialized programs they offer, but there's no reason to question the legitimacy of the education offered.
There appears to be a lot of community support for the Skyhawks athletic program which is a member of the USCAA in addition to the SWS. Their athletic offerings are different than many and include Archery, Rodeo, and Cycling in addition to more standard offerings like Cross Country and Men's & Women's Basketball.
Given their somewhat unique program offerings and a small but growing athletic department, membership with the USCAA seems to be in their best interests moving forward as they seem to offer the flexibility the school requires.
Southern California Leadership University Rhinos - Westminster, CA
Southern California Leadership University is quite similar to Justice College as it presents as a nondenominational Christian university which was established in this decade. It's hard to know exactly when classes commenced, but their course catalog states that the school was founded in February 2022, which makes this a very young institution.
They have not yet been accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, though they do state an alignment with the Academic Council for Educational Accountability and an affiliation with fully accredited schools such as Bethesda University.
There's nothing simple about establishing a new university, so I don't want to be too critical at this point, but it's confusing to not find a list of actual degree programs that they offer, just a small collection of courses.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on the growth of the school as they state the importance of athletics in their Mission Statement. Will they end up punching above their weight class in 5 years? At the moment they offer Baseball and Men's & Women's Basketball and they are a Provisional member of the USCAA. I can't see any of this changing in the near future as they work to establish the legitimacy of the school.
West Coast Baptist College Eagles - Lancaster, CA
Another NCCAA member! This is a slightly different arrangement than most I've seen, but I can't say I've looked into many other bible colleges. The college exists as a direct arm of Lancaster Baptist Church which was founded in 1986 with the school opening its doors in 1995.
They were only recently accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (effective January 1, 2024) and expressed their reasoning behind finally pursuing accreditation as the argument for a school in their position is not as cut and dry as it would be for a liberal arts college. The school appears to have a more defined path for students to move into ministerial service post-graduation than some of their conference-mates and although the value of attending may be questioned by the masses, the school does seem to make sense for individuals passionate about service.
As for athletics, they appear to only offer Men's Basketball and Women's Volleyball but they do have the luxury of an on-campus gymnasium. I don't know what has kept them from having a Women's Basketball team, but if enrollment would support it, it doesn't seem like a terribly difficult addition to their athletic program.
That being said, I can't see a reason for the school to look beyond their current arrangement as a member of the NCCAA and the SWS Conference.
Stanton University Fighting Elks - Garden Grove, CA
An Exploratory member of the USCAA, Stanton has also expressed intentions to join the NAIA where membership in the GSAC likely makes the most sense due to their sponsorship of Tennis.
Stanton is classed as a private non-profit secular school and with their recent WASC accreditation it positions them well to grow academically. As for the size of the school, their accreditation profile states that they have an undergraduate enrollment of 208 and a graduate enrollment of 170. Their program offerings are focused on business and IT without too much variety, but a focused mission is important at this size.
The athletic program offers a little more variety than the rest of the conference with Men's & Women's Basketball, Golf, and Tennis along with Men's Soccer. The addition of Women's Soccer and Volleyball would go a long way towards presenting as a fully NAIA-caliber program.
Lincoln University Oaklanders - Oakland, CA
Though its doors opened in 1919, the athletic program for Lincoln University (CA) is still in its infancy. They also only achieved accreditation from WASC in 2020, and their profile with the accreditor states they have only 177 undergraduates and 206 graduate students.
Their limited degree offerings include:
Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration
Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Imaging
Master of Business Administration
Master of Science in International Business
Master of Science in Finance Management
Doctor of Business Administration
They are one of a number of schools which rely heavily on international students and leading into their accreditation found themselves in a position of “heightened cash monitoring” from the US Department of Education in 2019. Presumably this situation has improved as their athletic program began play in 2021 with Football along with Men's & Women's Basketball and Soccer which led to their non-football sports joining the SWS ahead of Fall 2023.
But the football program is the reason a number of people, including myself, even know the school exists, and led to my discovery of the SWS.
The football program does not have a home field, or any real facilities. They play a purely road schedule, and play Division 1 competition as much as possible to raise funds, though apparently they are still not breaking even. The situation is somewhat similar to that of Bishop Sycamore, as chronicled by the USA Today.
Without any true governing body above their athletic program, some liberties are being taken while dangling the dream of Division 2 membership in front of recruits.
The situation isn't much better for their basketball and soccer programs, though not as noteworthy as those of their football program.
It's not fun being starkly negative, and I doubt they are the only school in this situation, but they have forced their strife into the spotlight through Division 1 competition. Even with an infusion of cash, they still have little to no options for a home stadium, and a lack of football competition outside of D1 in California.
School leadership does not seem interested in abandoning their dream and hopefully each season will bring some incremental improvements. Rome wasn't built in a day, and perhaps following the lead of some of their conference-mates in seeking USCAA membership would give the school guidance on improving their standing in the athletic world.
Final Thoughts
It has been interesting digging deeper into the structure of collegiate athletics with many discoveries both positive and negative.
Many articles and discussions begin and end with the NCAA, which makes sense by measure of popularity, but doesn't represent the entire landscape, and without new students attending a variety of schools, we will no longer have a variety of schools.
With what has been dubbed “the enrollment cliff” lurking, these schools which are already operating with fewer than 500 undergraduates are almost a glimpse into the future.
Although the majority of school closures in recent years have been of small, private institutions both secular and of religious affiliation, another commonality has been that they are generally liberal arts colleges offering a large variety of degree programs - wanting to be all things to all people.
What I have seen is that many of the smallest institutions have a clear mission with a smaller selection of focused degree programs which has also allowed them to offer accredited programs at a more affordable price.
In this age of information, it should be much more difficult for individuals and institutions to act in a predatory manner, but it is still up to a prospective student to try to find the best option for themselves. All schools should be as clear and honest with their mission and what they can offer for young adults finding their way.
As for athletics, the number of individuals involved with a team represents a much higher percentage of the student body at a small school than the traditional state flagship and should be a mutually beneficial relationship. Athletics can be a billboard for a school while also supporting the building of relationships and the health of its students. The lingering attachment and fondness of a school that is generated by athletics seems rarely replicated in schools without an athletic program.
After writing this article I am very interested in keeping an eye on these schools moving forward as some show the potential to be on the path towards NAIA membership as well as possibly being a preview of structural changes to come.
The fear should not be the enrollment cliff on its own. The fear should be an inability or unwillingness to assess oneself and adapt. The modern world has seen many industries be reduced to a select few companies and to have this occur in education would be a disservice to the future.