THE MOUNTAIN PACIFIC SPORTS FEDERATION
Tomorrow's Olympians... Today!
Al Beaird, Commissioner
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About the MPSF
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) was established during the 1992-1993 season to serve the competitive needs of member institutions from the Big West, Pacific-10 and Western Athletic Conferences, as well as other selected universities in the western United States; and to provide championships competition for Division I intercollegiate Olympic sports in a conference setting. The founding principles on which the MPSF was originally formed were to provide enhanced competition and championship opportunities for sports without conference affiliation; to contain the costs of competition; and to ensure the survival of sports impacted by Title IX and other fiscal pressures. The Federation has also served as an incubator for emerging women's sports and as a safe harbor for sports impacted by conference realignments. Since its inaugural season the Federation has seen its primary conference membership grow by the addition of the Mountain West and West Coast Conferences and their respective member institutions, as well as the addition of women's water polo, women's gymnastics, women's lacrosse and men's and women's swimming. As a testament to its viability, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation continues to successfully navigate the ever-changing sea of college sports by fostering contraction and expansion of its sports portfolio to meet the dynamic needs of its members. As the MPSF begins its 21st season in 2012-2013 and continues its legacy of championship competition, it affirms the vision of its founders and the relevance of its three founding principles, particularly during today's tumultuous economic times.
In 2012-2013, the MPSF will sponsor competition in 13 intercollegiate Olympic sports, while serving approximately 1,800 student-athletes on 99 teams from 41 universities in 14 western states. All MPSF teams compete at the NCAA Division I level in men's soccer, men's and women's water polo, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's swimming, women's lacrosse and men's volleyball. MPSF champions are eligible to compete in NCAA Championships with MPSF men's soccer, men's and women's water polo, and men's volleyball champions earning automatic qualification into NCAA championship events. Joining the Federation for the first time is Houston Baptist Men's Soccer, Denver Men's Swimming and Diving, Hawaii Women's Swimming and Diving and Women's Indoor Track and Field, USC Women's Lacrosse, CSU Bakersfield Women's Water Polo, and Cal Baptist Men's Volleyball.
During the 2011-2012 season, MPSF teams again won four NCAA team championship titles, as USC Men's Water Polo, UC Irvine Men's Volleyball, Oregon Women's Indoor Track and Field, and Stanford Women's Water Polo brought the Federation's total to 69 since the first season of competition in 1992-93. UCLA and BYU led the MPSF with two conference championships apiece, with the Bruins taking men's and women's water polo titles and the Cougars winning swimming and diving in each gender. In the fall, New Mexico finished as the nation's lone unbeaten men's soccer team, turning in an 18-0-4 record and posting its seventh MPSF title along the way. UC Davis claimed its third straight Federation Championship in women's gymnastics, while Oklahoma won its 12th overall and 11th in the last 14 years on the men's side. Stanford Women's Indoor Track and Field claimed its eighth championship last February, before UC Irvine Men's Volleyball duplicated its postseason comeback efforts from 2007 in taking its second title. Two teams won their first-ever MPSF Championship, as Arizona State Men's Indoor Track and Field and Oregon Women's Lacrosse each broke through in 2012.
Al Beaird has been the Federation's only executive director, taking the reins after being selected by the MPSF Administrative Committee in December 1997 after a national search. Beaird's position was established as a result of the Federation's continued growth and emerging tradition of NCAA and national championship caliber play, including 47 NCAA team championships during his tenure. Beaird, who formerly served on the athletics staff at his alma mater, UC Davis, where the integration of student and athlete is a long-rooted philosophy, oversees the administration of all Federation sports, having worked closely with administrators and coaches from more than 50 different universities over the course of his administration. Beaird presided over the transition of the Federation from what was initially a scheduling alliance to what is now nationally recognized as the most successful NCAA Division I Olympic sports conference. Beaird directs all aspects of MPSF competition, including championships, officiating, rules compliance, scheduling, media relations, broadcasting, sponsorships and NCAA relations, while also shaping conference legislation, facilitating annual meetings and providing direction and communication for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Administrative and Executive Committees. In 2004, Beaird completed a four-year term, three years as chair, on the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championships Committee and one year as chair of the inaugural NCAA Men's and Women's Water Polo Rules Committee. Beaird feels privileged to work with coaches and student-athletes who compete at the highest levels, including those who compete on USA national teams as coaches or players in international and Olympic competition. With his in NCAA Olympic sports, Beaird has been called upon to serve as liaison to the national governing bodies for amateur athletics in the United States and the United States Olympic Committee. Beaird received his undergraduate degree in physical education from UC Davis before attaining his Masters of Business Administration from California State University, Sacramento. Beaird, who lives in Woodland, California, has two daughters who have been active in high school and club sports.
