The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) has announced the addition of Gonzaga men's rowing to its list of sponsored sports beginning with the current 2024-25 season, marking the record-setting 15th current Intercollegiate Olympic sport in the conference.

MPSF Men's Rowing will feature Division-I programs from California, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego, Santa Clara, Stanford, UC San Diego, and Washington. The inaugural MPSF Men's Rowing Championship is scheduled for May 17-18, 2025, at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.

"I feel this is a good move for our program from a competitive standpoint," head coach Dan Gehn said. "It also has a huge athlete experience component, and it gives us a continued path to our national championship. We look forward to working with the MPSF."

Gonzaga and Santa Clara will be making their first-ever appearances as MPSF members. The Bulldogs finished in the top-three in each of the Western Sprints races in 2024, highlighted by a first-place JV8 boat. They have made 11 all-time appearances in the IRA Championships. 

"We are excited to have Gonzaga men's rowing join the MPSF, which includes an elite group of institutions and programs," Shannon Strahl, Gonzaga Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Operation Officer said. "We look forward to a high-caliber championship and partnership with the MPSF."

In addition to six sports, 44 teams and 17 schools have been added across the entire conference since the 2021 hiring of MPSF Executive Director Foti Mellis.

"The MPSF is thrilled and honored to be adding the sport of men's rowing," remarks Mellis. "We hold a profound appreciation for the importance of adding one of the original collegiate sports, boasting a rich history of over 130 years of national championship competition. This addition is significant, and we are eager to welcome eight esteemed programs into the MPSF. Furthermore, we acknowledge that the governing body of the sport, the Intercollegiate Rowing Association, predates the NCAA and has promoted rowing in the United States since 1894. These impressive standards will serve as a foundation for establishing ourselves as one of the top rowing conferences in the nation. The MPSF is dedicated to upholding its tradition of offering enhanced competition and championship opportunities for its student-athletes, and we eagerly anticipate our championship in May."

The 15 intercollegiate sports lined up in the MPSF for 2024-25, in addition to men's rowing, are beach volleyball, men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's indoor track & field, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's wrestling, fencing, and artistic swimming. The MPSF entered the 2024-25 academic year with 117 total national championships, with its 111 NCAA titles leading the nation amongst Non-Power Four Conferences. The MPSF won four NCAA titles in each of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.

MPSF Men's Rowing information, including specific championship details, will be forthcoming on the conference website's championship central page at mpsports.org. Follow the MPSF on social media @MPSFSports.