University Earns Top Rankings in Business, Technology and Military-Friendly Education While Warriors Claim Conference and National Championships Across Multiple Sports
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Westcliff University, a leading global institution in career-focused higher education, is closing out its latest academic year on a high note, with a string of athletic achievements and institutional recognitions that demonstrate the university’s continued rise as a launchpad where championship-level competition and academic excellence go hand in hand. From national titles to top graduate program rankings and a strengthened commitment to military-connected students, Westcliff’s 2025–26 chapter stands as one of its most decorated years on record.
Westcliff Earns Its Spot Among the Nation’s Best
This year, Westcliff earned three prestigious institutional recognitions that solidify its growing national stature across graduate education and student support. U.S. News & World Report ranked its Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) and Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) programs No. 44 in the country among Best Online Graduate Information Technology Programs for 2026. The distinction places Westcliff alongside institutions with far deeper resources, underscoring what the university has cultivated in academic quality, faculty and student engagement, program flexibility and reputation, online learning excellence and graduation outcomes.
Los Angeles Times Studios named Westcliff the No. 2 Top MBA Program in Southern California for 2026, distinguishing the university’s career-driven curriculum, practical business training and leadership development offerings that have made its MBA program a growing destination for working professionals across the region.
Rounding out the trio, Westcliff advanced from Silver to Gold Status in the 2026 Military Friendly® Schools designation, an evaluation that measures institutional commitment to veterans, active-duty service members and military families at every stage of their scholastic journey. Westcliff achieved Gold Status through expanded student success outcomes and a dynamic support infrastructure that includes dedicated academic advisors, tuition assistance coordination, benefits planning, early intervention systems and career development resources tailored specifically to its military student population.
A Winning Season for the Warriors
The 2025–26 season was nothing short of historic for Westcliff Athletics, adding new accolades to a department that now holds 32 conference championships and 11 national titles under its belt while continuing to establish itself as the place where student-athletes come to compete, grow and lead. Across more than a dozen programs, the Warriors delivered wins, broke records, made postseason runs, increased national visibility and continued building as one of the NAIA’s fastest-rising athletic contenders.
The marquee moment of the year came from the Surf program, which defeated a nine-time defending national champion to claim Westcliff’s first-ever NSSA Collegiate National Championship, a title that cements Westcliff's place among the elite of collegiate surfing. Cheer added its own hardware to the trophy case, sweeping both the NCA Collegiate National Championship and the USA Collegiate National Championship—the latter marking three consecutive USA National titles for the program.
That same winning culture carried through multiple Warriors teams this season. Men’s Volleyball went undefeated in conference play, entering the national tournament as a top-10 seed and earning both the Cal Pac Regular Season and Tournament titles. In what was widely regarded as the strongest season in program history, Women's Soccer posted a perfect conference run, captured the Cal Pac Tournament title and made its third NAIA National Tournament appearance in four years. Men’s Soccer also added a Cal Pac Tournament championship and advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Tournament.
Some of the year’s most energizing stories came from programs that made exceptional developmental strides. Women’s Volleyball, for example, opened the season at 4-9 before rallying to win 10 of its final 14 matches—upsetting the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds at the CAC Tournament to earn the first postseason victories since the program’s inception. As one of the fastest-growing sports in the department under the direction of Head Coach D’Rell Gist and his staff, wrestling produced its highest-ever women’s conference finish with seven conference placers and multiple national qualifiers. On the men’s side, junior wrestler Chris Calderon displayed one of the year’s most inspiring individual performances and came within a single point of All-American honors at the NAIA National Championships, losing twice by one point to eventual All-Americans. The department also hosted the inaugural Warrior Classic wrestling invitational, attracting teams from across the country to compete at the Westcliff campus and further establishing its status within the collegiate wrestling community.
The university also kept a deliberate focus on strategic program expansion, adding Cross Country—led by Gus Schmader, a former NCAA national champion, 16-time All-American and coach with more than 20 years of collegiate experience—along with Women’s Flag Football and STUNT, two of the most rapidly growing sports across the NAIA landscape. Beyond competition, the university’s annual Inclusive Sports Day, hosted in partnership with the Inclusive Sports Foundation, drew nearly 400 students, athletes, volunteers and community members this year and earned a standout endorsement from Foundation founder Matt Lance: “Westcliff does it better than anyone that we work with.”
“This has been one of the most well-rounded years in Westcliff’s history,” said Dr. Anthony Lee, president and CEO of Westcliff University. “Our student-athletes competed at the highest levels of their sports while our academic programs earned accolades that represent the quality and commitment we’ve worked so hard to embed into every area of this university. Whether it’s a national championship, a top-ranked academic program or receiving the highest honors for how we serve our military-connected students, these achievements illustrate exactly the kind of institution Westcliff is; one where competitive excellence and academic opportunity are one and the same. We are incredibly proud of what our students, coaches and faculty delivered this year and look forward to seeing our Warriors continue on this trajectory of success for years to come.”
For more information about Westcliff University, visit https://www.westcliff.edu/.
About Westcliff University: Westcliff University is an innovative global higher education institution with its finger on the pulse of the international business landscape and the needs of today’s employers. Founded in 1993 and based in Irvine, Calif., it offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees spanning 20+ areas of study, including business, education, technology, nursing, law, computer science and engineering. Westcliff is a California Public Benefit Corporation that affirms its dedication to operating in the best interests of its students and the surrounding community. With more than 9,000 enrolled students across nine campuses worldwide, its programs focus on both the hard and soft skills needed to secure quality jobs in high-growth industries. The university offers hands-on learning through community and business engagement while delivering innovative, affordable online and in-person programs across its global campuses—earning continued national recognition, including a ranking on the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list, a No. 2 ranking for MBA programs by the Los Angeles Times and designation as a Military Friendly institution. Visit www.westcliff.edu and www.wsulaw.edu to learn more and follow Westcliff on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Editor’s Note: Media interested in speaking to expert staff, faculty and leadership of Westcliff University should email westcliff@beyondfifteen.com to facilitate interviews.
Contacts
Leslie Licano, Beyond Fifteen Communications, Inc.
westcliff@beyondfifteen.com; 949.733.8679
