MPSF Adds Field Hockey for Record 16th Sport

Content Courtesy fo MPSF

The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) has announced the addition of field hockey to its list of sponsored sports beginning with the 2025 season, marking the record-setting 16th current Intercollegiate Olympic sport for the conference, exceeding the previous all-time high of 15 during the most recent 2024-25 academic year. Field hockey is the seventh sport to be added to the MPSF in Commissioner Foti Mellis’ tenure since the fall of 2021, four of which debuted last year. In its first season, MPSF Field Hockey will feature NCAA Division-I programs from the University of California, Davis and the University of Delaware. The MPSF will be the newest field hockey NCAA Division I conference since the Northeast Conference formed in 1998. The conference champion will be decided by the winner of the championship contest in the first-ever meeting between the Aggies and Blue Hens, hosted by UC Davis on November 8. 

In addition to seven sports, 65 teams and 35 schools have been added across the MPSF since the 2021 hiring of Mellis. 

“We are thrilled to officially launch the sport of field hockey in the MPSF,” said Mellis. “This marks an exciting new chapter for our conference as we expand our commitment to high-level collegiate competition. We proudly welcome our first two programs — UC Davis and the University of Delaware — who bring outstanding tradition, talent, and passion to the field. Their leadership provides a strong foundation as we aim to grow the sport, and we look forward to the energy and excellence field hockey will bring to our conference.” 

Located in Davis, California, UC Davis athletic programs have been long-time affiliates of the Big West Conference, though will transition to the Mountain West on July 1, 2026. Aggie Field Hockey has been a member of the America East Conference since 2015 and was a member of the NorPac Conference in the first six years of the program from 2009 to 2014. Austin Pile enters his fourth year as UC Davis Head Coach. The Aggies are current MPSF members in women’s gymnastics and indoor track & field, and were former participants in women’s swimming & diving and lacrosse. 

Delaware checks in to the MPSF from Conference USA, the university’s new affiliation effective this past July 1. The Blue Hens won 12 games last year while in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), culminating with a 10th conference championship in the last 12 years. The program has won 16 conference titles since sponsoring field hockey in 1971, and has made 17 NCAA/AIAW Tournament appearances, highlighted by a national championship in 2016. Tara Zollinger takes over at the helm of the program this fall, after spending the previous eight seasons as the head coach at Division II Shippensburg University, where she won three national championships. Located in Newark, Del., the Blue Hens are making their MPSF debut across their entire athletic department. 

The 16 intercollegiate sports lined up in the MPSF for 2025-26, in addition to field hockey, are beach volleyball, men’s volleyball, men’s and women’s water polo, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s wrestling, men’s rowing, fencing, and artistic swimming. 

The MPSF enters the 2025-26 academic year with 121 total national championships, including four last year, with its 113 NCAA titles leading the nation amongst Division-I Non-Power Four Conferences. 

MPSF Field Hockey information, including specific championship details, can be found on the conference website’s championship central page at mpsports.org. Follow the MPSF on social media @MPSFSports. Follow UC Davis Athletics at ucdavisaggies.com and its field hockey program on social media @UCDavisFH. Delaware Athletics information is located at bluehens.com and on its social channels at Delaware_FH. 

“We are incredibly excited to join the MPSF and add a new conference to sponsor field hockey. In this era of realignment within the NCAA, the creation of a new conference sponsoring field hockey demonstrates the rising commitment to women’s athletics. We couldn’t be happier to be stepping into a partnership that will provide stability and high-level competition, while also bringing teams to the west coast for home games. The long-term vision shared by Commissioner Mellis and the University of Delaware athletics department aligns with our goals of athletic and academic excellence, and we can’t wait to compete this fall. The MPSF is a conference that has produced 121 team national championships within Division-I athletics and they know how to run a competitive conference with tremendous athletic success. We are thrilled to be a part of that, grow the footprint of the conference, and expand its sport offerings.” 

-Austin Pile, UC Davis Head Coach 

“We are proud to have our field hockey program join the MPSF as we help pioneer a new era for the sport on the West Coast. This new conference affiliation will anchor the future of our program and elevate the sport’s presence across Northern California and nationally. We are grateful for the collaboration and shared vision of our co-founding partners at Delaware, and we look forward to building something special together with Commissioner Foit Mellis.” 

-Rocko DeLuca, UC Davis Director of Athletics 

“We are excited to join the MPSF in the inaugural year of sponsoring field hockey. Alongside UC Davis, we are eager to compete and grow our conference while providing access to a conference championship for our deserving student-athletes.” 

-Tara Zollinger, University of Delaware Head Coach 

“We are thrilled to give our student-athletes the chance to compete in a new conference and the opportunity to compete for a league title. We are thankful to MPSF Commissioner Foti Mellis and co-founding member UC Davis for joining us in creating this opportunity for our student-athletes. Our field hockey program has been and will continue to be one of our most nationally competitive teams at Delaware. Finding a path forward towards a conference has been critically important and creating a new conference gives us the ability to work towards once again being in a league with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.” 

-Jordan Skolnick, University of Delaware Interim Director of Athletics 

“The NFHCA applauds the MPSF for its forward-thinking decision to add field hockey to its roster of championship sports. This announcement marks a positive step forward for the sport, aligning closely with the goals of our Field Hockey Forward initiative, which seeks to grow and sustain collegiate field hockey across all divisions and regions of the country. We extend our sincere congratulations to the University of Delaware and UC Davis for becoming the MPSF’s inaugural field hockey members. Their leadership and vision set an example for other institutions seeking a competitive and sustainable conference home for their programs. The MPSF’s historic role as a champion of Olympic sports, a safe harbor for programs impacted by realignment, and an incubator for women’s athletics makes it an ideal home for field hockey's continued expansion and success.” 

-Cate Clark, National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association (NFHCA) Executive Director 

"Huge congratulations and thanks to the MPSF on their addition of field hockey as a conference sport. Welcome to the family! We are very excited for the student-athletes at UC Davis and Delaware and the opportunities this move affords. We are thrilled to see a conference based in California, the home of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. This addition not only showcases the great impact field hockey has in California but also that it is a sport that is growing and thriving. We are looking forward to future growth and opportunities.'
- Chip Rogers, USA Field Hockey's Board of Directors Chair