2024-25 Big West Women's Basketball Conference Slate Unveiled (2024)

The Big West released its 2024-25 women's basketball conference schedule, featuring a 20-game double-round robin format culminating in the 2025 Hercules Tires Big West Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Credit Union 1.

The first date of non-conference play is set for Nov. 4, with league action beginning in the first edition of Bold Week. Opening the month of December with Big West games on Dec. 5 and 7, the shift to an 11-week conference scheduleimproves both the fan and student-athlete experience while adding early season intrigue and eliminating three-game weeks.

Conference competition picks back up in the New Year, with each Big West squad facing off in a consistent Thursday/Saturday format where all 11 teams will play a home-and-away series against each fellow conference member. The regular season concludes on March 8 before the top eight teams converge on the Las Vegas valley to vie for the Championship trophy.

Some of the premier matchups and storylines to watch include:

• The Big West is coming off a season where four teams made the national postseason for the first time since 2013. UC Irvine represented the league in the NCAA Championship with Hawai'i earning automatic qualification in the inaugural 32-team Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. After stellar regular seasons, Cal Poly and UC Riverside each earned a place in the WNIT field. Can the league duplicate the success again?

• Three new coaches will be patrolling the sidelines at Cal State Bakersfield, CSUN and UC Santa Barbara in the 2024-25 season. Ari Wideman was tapped to lead the Roadrunners, while becoming the first Black female head coach in CSUB athletics history. For CSUN, Angie Ned returns to The Big West after competing as a student-athlete and embarking on a coaching career at UC Irvine. Renee Jimenez takes the reigns for the Gauchos fresh off a NCAA Division II Final Four appearance with Cal State San Marcos. No stranger to the Central Coast, Jimenez grew up in Ventura, Calif., and attended UCSB games and camps as a youth.

• After completing a four-year reclassification period, UC San Diego will be eligible for postseason play in all Big West sports beginning in 2024-25. The Tritons finished eighth in last year's standings, which would have earned them a place in the revamped eight-team Big West bracket.

• Matchups between 2024 regular-season and Championship victors will occur in Week five and eight when Hawai'i tussles with UC Irvine. The reigning regular-season champion Rainbow Wahine host the Anteaters on Jan. 25 with the return trip to Irvine coming on Feb. 15. UCI returns 2023-24 Big West Player of the Year Deja Lee to lead the lineup, while UH has an upperclassmen laden squad headlined by 2023-24 All-Big West first team selection Daejah Phillips in a senior campaign.

• All eyes will be on the Championship rematches between UC Irvine and UC Davis on Feb. 1 as the Aggies play host to the Week 6 matchup. Then, in the final weekend of action, UCD travels to the Bren Events Center on March 6 on the penultimate gameday of the regular season. In 2024, second-seeded UC Irvine emerged victorious against No. 5 seed UC Davis, snapping a spell of runner-up finishes in two of the previous three campaigns. The Aggies took down regular-season and defending champion Hawai'i in the semifinal round before falling in the championship finale.

The 2025 Hercules Tires Big West Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Credit Union 1 is scheduled for March 12-15 atLee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. The eight-team bracket will be in effect for a second year, with the top two seeds earning automatic entry into the semifinal round.

All Big West regular-season home contests and each women's game of the 2025 Hercules Tires Big West Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Credit Union 1 is slated for broadcast on ESPN+. Tune in to watch more than 150 women's basketball games spanning the entirety of the 2024-25 season.