These seven were among the premier programs in many women's sports and were previously independent.
The men's teams at these schools competed in three leagues: Pacific-8, WAC, and PCAA.
Stanford joined in 1982, and the WCAA had eight members for three years; the PCAA added women's sports in 1985, so Long Beach State and Cal State-Fullerton moved.
San Diego State also joined the PCAA for women's sports only (the WAC did not sponsor women's sports until 1990; its parallel league was the "High Country Athletic Conference").
The remaining five members of the WCAA, all Pac-10 schools, competed in the renamed "PacWest Conference" for a final academic year (1985–86); the Pac-10 added women's sports in the summer of 1986.