We continue our journey through the defunct conferences of college football today with the Big West Conference (1969-2000). Sadly, the Big West never had a single team finish ranked in the final Associated Press poll! But the league did post a .630 winning percentage in bowl games during its existence, albeit only in the smaller bowl games with regional interest. Still, many of these teams below moved up in the world …

Note: From 1969 to 1987, the conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.

5. 1973

The San Diego State Aztecs won the league title with a 9-1-1 record overall—yet they were not ranked, and they did not get a bowl invitation, either. The Pacific Tigers finished 7-2-1 to augment the Aztecs’ success. The San Jose State Spartans (5-4-2) also finished with a winning record as the five-team conference posted a .491 winning percentage to finish seventh in the nation among the 13 Division 1-A leagues.

4. 1974

The Aztecs repeated as the conference champs, going undefeated in league play and reached a peak of No. 20 in the AP poll on October 28. Alas, a road loss at North Texas by 5 points dropped SDSU from the poll for good, despite an overall 8-2-1 record in the end. With a .596 win percentage, though, the conference was the second best in the nation. SJSU went 8-3-1; Long Beach State and Pacific both posted 6-5 marks, too.

3. 1975

This time around, the Spartans secured the league crown as the three top teams were closely matched: SJSU (9-2), LBSU (9-2), and SDSU (8-3) all had outstanding seasons. Yet no bowl games, despite the conference’s overall .545 winning percentage (fifth best). The Spartans, the 49ers, and the Aztecs all finished over .500 in league play, as the conference had expanded to six teams with the addition of the Cal State Fullerton Titans.

2. 1972

The Aztecs went 10-1 to win the league, but they did not get a bowl invitation or an AP ranking. The Tigers went 8-3 overall, as the conference itself managed a .609 winning percentage—tops in Division 1-A. Fresno State also finished with a winning record (6-4-1), but the national media and pundits didn’t seem to give any teams in the league any credit for much in just the fourth season of the group’s existence. Predictable, huh?

1. 1977

The Bulldogs (9-2) took the league crown in this best-of-the-best season. As usual, there was no bowl invitation and no final AP poll ranking, though. Every team in the conference won at least 4 games, however, contributing to an overall .500 aggregate mark for the league. That was good enough for 10th out of 15 Division 1-A conference, and the SOS ranking (9th) helped elevate this season’s results to higher math.