The Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (also FPU Sunbirds) are the athletic teams that represent

Fresno Pacific University Fresno Pacific University (FPU) is a private Christian university in Fresno, California, United States. It was founded as the Pacific Bible Institute in 1944 by the Pacific District Conference of U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. ...

, located in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

Pacific West Conference The Pacific West Conference (also known as the PacWest) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in California and Hawaii. T ...

(PacWest) for most of its sports since the 2012–13 academic year. while its men's and women's water polo teams compete in the

Western Water Polo Association The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) is a single sport college athletic conference sponsoring men's and women's water polo. The WWPA is affiliated with the NCAA, and includes 15 member institutions, mostly in California, with one institution ...

(WWPA). The Sunbirds previously competed in the

Golden State Athletic Conference The Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC), formerly known as the Golden State Athletic Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is M ...

(GSAC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA) from 1986–87 to 2011–12.

History

NAIA

During their days in the NAIA, the Sunbirds boasted one of the top programs, finishing in the top five of the

NACDA Directors' Cup The NACDA Directors' Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the NACDA Learfield Directors' Cup or simply as the Directors' Cup, is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) to the colleges an ...

in each of their last five seasons as a member (2007–2012). FPU has won a total of 58 conference titles and 13 national titles. Within the last five years, FPU has won national titles in Volleyball, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Tennis and Women's Tennis. They've also taken home conference titles in Men's Basketball, Men's Soccer and Men's Track & Field, and garnered national attention in Men's Water Polo, Women's Soccer, Baseball and Women's Track and Field. The university has hosted a number of NAIA special events, including the Track & Field National Championships, Men's Soccer Nationals and a round of the NAIA World Series.

NCAA

On June 1, 2011, the university announced that it had accepted an invitation to join the

competition, joining fellow

(GSAC) members

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...

and

Point Loma Nazarene University Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a Private college, private Christianity, Christian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with its main campus in Point Loma, San Diego, Point Loma in San Diego, California, Unit ...

, and

California Pacific Conference The California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Don Ott. Conference leadership is shared among the member in ...

(CalPac) member

Holy Names University Holy Names University (HNU) was a private Catholic university in Oakland, California, United States. It was founded in 1868 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. It remained affiliated with the order until it closed in 2023 due ...

as part of the conference's expansion from 10–14 members. While the majority of sports will compete in the PacWest, water polo will join the

(WWPA). The Sunbirds will compete in conference play beginning in the 2012–2013 academic year. They will be eligible for conference championships and awards immediately but ineligible for NCAA postseason play for the first two seasons during the transition process. On July 11, 2011, Fresno Pacific along with fellow conference mates, Azusa Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene, learned that their application for

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

membership had been approved. The 2011–2012 athletic season marked the final one in GSAC and NAIA competition for the Sunbirds. The 2012–2013 season marked the beginning of

play for FPU. The Sunbirds experienced immediate success, finishing second in the 14-team league in men's soccer, women's volleyball, men's basketball and men's tennis. The women's volleyball team cracked the

top 10, the only transitioning school to do so in any sport. On January 13, 2014, Fresno Pacific named Leslie Schuemann its director of athletics. Schuemann was the former director of academic and membership affairs at the

and was instrumental in the formation of the

membership process. On June 12, 2025, Fresno Pacific announced they would depart the Pacific West Conference on July 1, 2026 and join the

California Collegiate Athletic Association The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. All of its current m ...

Varsity teams

Fresno Pacific competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and water polo; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball and water polo.

National championships

Team

Individual programs

Women's volleyball

The Women’s Volleyball program was dominant at the NAIA level, winning a national title in 1989, and four consecutive national titles from 2007–2010 including an undefeated 38–0 season in 2009. FPU won the 2010 title without dropping a single set in the entire national tournament. The Sunbirds have consistently defeated crosstown institution

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

rival

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

of the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

, with a 7–1 all-time record against the Bulldogs.

Men's tennis

The Men's Tennis program dominated their last five seasons as a member of the NAIA's Golden State Athletic Conference, winning the league title in each season (2009–2014). In the same stretch, FPU played for five straight

NAIA Men's Tennis Championship The NAIA men's tennis championships are contested at the annual tournament hosted by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to determine the national champions of men's collegiate tennis among its members in the United States and ...

s with victories in 2009 and 2011 before joining the NCAA prior to the 2012–13 academic year. In 2020, FPU announced the return of men's tennis program as part of the school's NCAA D2 athletics.

Olympic trials & professional athletes

Fresno Pacific has a reputation for turning out an extraordinary number of professional athletes for a school of its size. FPU currently has close to 50 alumni playing professionally in numerous sports, with the highest number coming from women's volleyball, men's soccer, men's basketball and baseball. FPU had four alumni competing between the 2012 United States Olympic Swimming Trials and the United States Olympic Track & Field Trials.

Robert Griswold Robert Griswold (born November 27, 1996) is an American swimmer. He was a member of the 2016 and 2020 U.S. Paralympic Swimming Teams. He holds multiple American and world paralympic swimming records in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and i ...

competed for the men's swimming team. Women's swimmer Cheyenne Coffman finished 10th in the nation in the 100 backstroke, narrowly finishing behind

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (née Franklin; born May 10, 1995) is an American former competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course) from 2012 to 2019. As a member of the ...

and

Natalie Coughlin Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall (born August 23, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, she became the first woman ever to swim the World record progre ...

while triple jumper Ethan DeJongh placed 15th in the USA in the triple jump. FPU has a number of hopefuls for the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

from multiple countries, including

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

national record holders Milika Tuivanuavou (

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

) and Eugene Vollmer (

). Since 2006, FPU has had seven players selected in the

Major League Baseball draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...

. In 2011, Chris Schwinden became the first former Sunbird to reach the major leagues, debuting with the New York Mets. That same year, the FPU baseball program beat out

and

Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semeste ...

to have the first local college player selected in the

MLB draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...

when pitcher Jesse Darrah went in the 8th round to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. FPU has had four alumni go on to reach

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, as well as numerous others who have gone on to play professionally in the United States and around the world. Former Sunbird Pablo Campos went on to win the

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

with

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

and is currently a star forward for the

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. In 2013, FPU alum Paul Islas became the first

player selected in the MLS Draft when he was selected in the first round of the supplemental portion by

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

. The FPU men's basketball program has continuously put out professional athletes both overseas and in the United States. In 2010, alum James Lewis became the first FPU player to be selected in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

draft, being selected by the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo Building. The Boston Celtics pu ...

. He was selected in 2011 as well by the

Austin Toros Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

. In 2013, FPU guard John Taylor led

in scoring at 27.5 points per game and declared for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. FPU has had a number of alumni achieve a professional world tennis ranking in either the WTA or the ATP. Including, the ITA National Small College champion

Jelena Pandžić Jelena Pandžić (; born 17 March, 1983) is a retired tennis player from Croatia. Tennis career She began playing tennis at the age of seven and was considered a very promising junior player, achieving a world No. 1 ranking in the under-14 categ ...