Athletics

Big West Champs

Women’s Soccer Brings Home Regular Season Title.
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atador Women’s Soccer clinched its first Big West Conference regular season championship since 2016 after a thrilling 2-1 comeback win over Long Beach State in late October. It’s CSUN’s second overall regular season championship in team history.

With the Oct. 30 victory, the Matadors earned the No. 1 seed and hosted the Big West Championship semifinals and finals in November. CSUN was picked to finish in ninth place prior to the start of the year and had finished in last place two seasons ago.

Second-year head coach Gina Brewer was named the conference’s coach of the year, while five Matadors earned spots on the All-Big West team. Junior Paige Califf and sophomore Sydney Lipkin each picked up All-Big West First Team honors, while seniors Riley Liebsack and Cailey Jackson were voted to the Second Team and Alex Valente made the All-Freshman Team.

“It feels amazing. I’m so proud of everyone involved in our program,” Brewer said. “All of the staff, all of the student-athletes — they have gone above and beyond to listen and buy in to what we as coaches want from them. … Our 10 seniors, they’ve been the heart and soul of this program, and they’ve gone through so much. We talked about what they are truly capable of and leaving CSUN Women’s Soccer in a better place than how they found it. They’ve done that and more.”

—Nick Bocanegra and Jacob Bennett

A female coach wearing a black t-shirt and baseball cap claps her hands in support while standing before a yellow graphic.

Coach Brewer’s impact

Gina Brewer was named the 2025 Women’s Soccer Big West Coach of the Year after leading the Matadors to their first regular-season championship since 2016.
Women’s Soccer celebrates their Big West title after a thrilling comeback victory.
David J. Hawkins, CSUN

Welcoming Director of Athletics Ryan Swartwood

In November, CSUN welcomed Ryan Swartwood as director of athletics for the Matadors. It’s a homecoming for Swartwood, who served previously as CSUN’s associate athletic director for administration from 2013-18 and interim athletic director in 2018. Most recently, Swartwood served at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

“We are excited to welcome Ryan back to lead CSUN Athletics and support our outstanding student-athletes,” President Erika D. Beck said. “Ryan is dedicated to CSUN’s institutional values, the well-being of our student-athletes and continuing to elevate an athletics program that strengthens our Matador community.”

“I see great promise across the entire athletic department.”
A man with short hair wearing a grey suit, white dress shirt, and a striped maroon and white tie, posing with arms crossed.
Ryan Swartwood returns to CSUN after serving at the University of Alaska.
“I see great promise across the entire athletic department.”
“I’m thrilled to be back [at] CSUN,” Swartwood said. “I see great promise across the entire athletic department, and I’m looking forward to getting to work with our leadership team, head coaches and professional staff to guide and support our student-athletes.”

He returned to Northridge after more than six years at Anchorage, where he joined the staff as the senior associate athletic director for external affairs in 2019 before his promotion to director of athletics in 2021. Swartwood, widely respected by athletics administrators across the nation, was instrumental in negotiating an extension of an arena naming rights agreement with Alaska Airlines and a department-wide agreement with Nike.

Previously, as a member of CSUN’s athletics senior staff, he managed and supervised contract administration and athletics facilities operations. He also had department oversight of sports medicine and sports performance, in addition to serving as program administrator for multiple sport programs.

He previously worked at the University of Oklahoma and as a legal intern for the Oakland Raiders, as well as at Cal State Stanislaus’ athletics department.

Swartwood is a product of the CSU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history from San Diego State. He also earned a master’s in adult and higher education from the University of Oklahoma and a Juris Doctor from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State. Swartwood and his wife, Chio, are the proud parents of two sons, Sammy and Mikey.

Matadors Advance to Big West Semifinals

A male basketball player in a white jersey with red and black trim reaches upward to shoot or rebound the ball during a game.
CSUN Men’s Basketball went on a tear in January and February, leading into the Big West tournament, with seven straight wins against conference rivals like UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State — a school record in Division I play. Led by third-year head coach Andy Newman, CSUN has posted three straight winning seasons.

In March, CSUN made its strongest postseason run in years, advancing to the Big West semifinals for the first time since 2014. In the quarterfinals of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Championship tournament in Henderson, Nev., senior guard Larry Hughes II scored a career-high 34 points as the Matadors came from behind to defeat UC San Diego.

Then on March 13, the Matadors fell behind early in their semifinals matchup and could not catch a hot-shooting UC Irvine team down the stretch, in a 93-78 defeat.

Last year, CSUN made its first-ever trip to the National Invitation Tournament, its first national tournament since competing in the College Basketball Invitational in 2019. The Matadors made the NCAA Division I “March Madness” tournament in 2000-01 and 2008-09.

Don’t forget, tickets are free for CSUN students, and faculty, staff and alumni enjoy special promotions — get them at GoMatadors.com. And keep an eye on CSUN Athletics’ Instagram for more promotions and team schedules this fall.

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