The California Pacific Conference is one of the largest Division II leagues in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Founded in 1996, the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) is a 10-member conference sanctioned by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Cal Pac is representative of higher education in California with members from the California State University campuses as well as religious and liberal arts colleges. The Cal Pac sponsors four women's sports (basketball, cross country, soccer, and volleyball) and four men's sports (basketball, cross country, golf, and soccer).

The conference was born in 1996-1997 with just seven of its eight charter members playing a league basketball schedule. The member schools increased to 11 when NCAA schools CSU East Bay (formerly CSU Hayward), Menlo College, and Notre Dame de Namur University (formerly College of Notre Dame) joined the NAIA and the Cal Pac. Mills College joined during the 1999-2000 as the 12^th member. This allowed the Cal Pac to break into divisions for basketball and volleyball.
The Cal Pac was created during a time period in which many NAIA schools in the West were leaving for NCAA Division II or III conferences. As recently as 1992, there were only two NAIA schools in Northern California. The implementation of the Cal Pac allowed for a reverse trend as it attracted eight new members into the NAIA, including five which had been long-time NCAA schools.

The Cal Pac has its roots in the rapid rise of small college sports in Northern California since the mid-1980s. Institutions that once placed little or no emphasis on intercollegiate play began to upgrade and improve their programs. In 1987, believing that they had outgrown local leagues such as the Bay Area Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Northern California Soccer Conference, Dominican and Menlo joined with UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, CSU San Bernardino, College of Notre Dame, and Mills College to form the NCAA Division III league, the California Athletic Conference (CAC).

When two of its members moved to NCAA Division II, the league disbanded. Roughly around the same time Dominican and Bethany switched its national affiliation to the NAIA. Another statewide league, though one without full NAIA membership, was formed – the California Coastal Conference, which included six current Cal Pac member schools.

A foundation existed for the formation of an NAIA-affiliated conference in Northern California when two Oakland schools, Patten (1993) and Holy Names (1994) joined Bethany and Dominican in the NAIA, with Pacific Union joining in 1995. Bill Fusco, then-Dominican athletic director, spearheaded the idea of pulling more teams into the Association with the goal of creating an affiliated conference. His vision was supported by Dave Weber and Vern Howard, both of who had extensive qualifications in leadership and formulating conferences. Weber, then-Patten athletic director and future Cal Pac President, had been the founding chair of the CAC while serving as the athletic director at Dominican during the 1980s. Howard, then-Simpson athletic director and future Commissioner of the Cal Pac, served as President of the California Coastal Conference. His interest in the Cal Pac helped solidify the league. With Simpson on board, two state institutions, CSU Maritime Academy and CSU Monterey Bay, also joined giving the conference eight members.

Fusco earned the first of two consecutive Far West Region Administrator of the Year honors within the first month of the Cal Pac’s existence for his efforts as the league’s founding President/Commissioner. When Steve Baker became CEO of the NAIA in 1997, one of his first visits was to Oakland to address administrators and coaches of the Association's bright new star, the Cal Pac. Dr. Mary Alice Muellerleile, then-President of Holy Names and first Cal Pac CEO to sit on the NAIA’s Council of Presidents (COP), hosted the luncheon. When Muellerleile resigned her position at Holy Names along with her spot on the COP, Patten’s late president, Dr. Priscilla Benham, was named as her successor on the COP. Dr. James Grant of Simpson also joined the 32-member COP in 1997 continuing the conference’s prominence in national affairs.

In the Fall of 1998, most members of what had been the nation’s only non-scholarship NCAA Division II league, the Northern California Athletic Conference, joined either the California Collegiate Athletic Association or the Pacific West Conference and began granting athletic scholarships. Two of the schools – CSU East Bay and Notre Dame de Namur – decided to join the Cal Pac instead of pursuing membership in either NCAA Division II league. Later, Notre Dame de Namur dropped out of the conference, following the 2004-2005 academic year.

The new millennium has been marked by a definite leadership shift in the Cal Pac. Don Ott serves as Commmissioner while Themy Adachi of Mills serves as president, Debby De Angelis of CSU East Bay as vice president, Caitlin Collier of Menlo College as secretary, and Chuck Evans of Pacific Union as treasurer. Brandon Davis serves as Sports Information Director for the Cal Pac and is a staff member at Dominican University of California. Doctor James Davies, formerly of Simpson, serves as faculty athletic representative/eligibility chair.