COSTA MESA -- Vanguard Athletics hopes that everyone is enjoying their summer, and while there is still plenty of sun and time off to be had, the department is excited to reveal the 2026 fall schedules.  Three VU teams return to campus sooner than the past two years due to it being a Fall Festival year for the NCAA Division II.  The championships for cross country, women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, and women's field hockey will take place in the greater Kansas City area in late November and December, co-hosted between the city and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.  To accommodate the schedule demands for all those sports, VU women's volleyball and both soccer teams have competitive games beginning August 27th.
 
Women's soccer gets 2026-27 rolling that Thursday afternoon (1:30 p.m.) by hosting UC Merced, the first time the programs meet as DII members.  Men's soccer follows that with a 4:00 p.m. clash against CSU Dominguez Hills, who the women host two days later on the 29th.  If Vanguard soccer is your thing, then it is a great year for you, as the teams are home for 11 of the slated 16 matches in 2026.  The Lions host Westmont, Hawaii Hilo, Chaminade, and Hawaii Pacific for the first four Pacific West Conference games before traveling on the road for the next four.  The final home game is October 28th against Biola, and the Conference Championships see the men go to Dominican while the women travel to Hilo for their respective tournaments that run November 5-7.
 
Women's volleyball starts the 2026 campaign at the CSU San Bernardino Coyote Classic against three California Collegiate Athletic Association teams (Cal Poly Pomona, CSUSB, and CSULA), and Saint Martin's (Wash.) from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  The Blue and Gold then combine forces with the Green and Gold of CUI to host the Orange County Classic on September 4-5, with VU hosting Menlo on Friday and CSU Monterey Bay and CSUDH on Saturday.  The PacWest returns to having the home and away matches between each team count for the conference record for 2026, with VU starting the conference stretch on the road on September 11 at Jessup.  The first conference home match comes a week later on September 17 at 6:00 p.m. against UHH, kicking off the first of two four-match home stands.  The OC Classic is not the only tournament hosted inside the Freed Center this year, as the PacWest Championship comes to Costa Mesa November 13-14, the first conference championship hosted by VU.  Ticket details and game times will be released closer to the event, but block out the dates on your calendar now.
 
One final note for the conference slate: the PacWest is smaller this year as Menlo and Fresno Pacific shift to the CCAA and APU begins its transition to DIII.  The women's volleyball game against Menlo on September 4 is the first time the two schools will play without being in the same conference since the Oaks joined the Golden State Athletic Conference in 2015.
 
Cross country does not get to return as early as the other three fall sports for Vanguard, and unfortunately, the VU Invitational is not happening in 2026.  However, the Lions have five races in Southern California, with the opening meet coming on September 12 at Craig Regional Park for the Biola Invite.  The Blue and Gold head to UC Riverside twice, Pomona-Pitzer, and Cal State Fullerton before the PacWest Championships on November 8 at Jessup.
 
Check out all four schedules now and start planning to get to as many games as possible.  Enjoy the rest of the summer, and we will see you at Vanguard in August!