History

The California Junior College Federation (CJCF), the first organization of its kind, was founded in 1929. The organization consolidated the Southern California, Northern Junior College, and Central California athletic associations, establishing a central governance structure for the athletics programs of California’s community colleges. The CJCF later became the California Community and Junior College Association (CCJCA), followed by the California Association of Community Colleges (CACC). The Commission on Athletics (COA) was operating within the CACC but later separated itself from the organization. After the separation, the COA was still run by staff employed by the CACC.

The formation of the Community College League of California (CCLC) raised new questions about its relationship with the COA. It was then that administrators decided to create the COA Board, separating governance of the COA from the CCLC CEO Board. The COA was finally renamed the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) and has operated as such since. The CCLC is still the parent organization of the CCCAA, the CCLC’s 501(c)(3), and oversees the financials of the CCCAA. The CCCAA’s boards, however, now exercise direct governance over its sub-organizations and member institutions.

Membership

Membership in the association is restricted to California-based community colleges:

“Only those California community colleges under the auspices of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) are eligible for membership in the 3C2A and shall be entitled to all the privileges and obligations of the 3C2A Constitution and Bylaws (hereinafter referred to as the Constitution and Bylaws).” [4]

Structure

The CCCAA is organized by divisions, conferences, and leagues. Member institutions are placed into one of each organization, all of which are directly governed by the CCCAA.

Divisions

CCCAA member institutions are assigned to one of two divisions. Teams in the National Division are generally considered the most competitive and compete for the CCCAA State Championship. Teams in the American Division, while not eligible for the State Championship, play for the opportunity to compete in the American Division Championship.

Inter-divisional play does not occur outside of the preseason, exhibition environment. Relegation is a feature of the divisional system, though. High-achieving programs in the American Division can be promoted at the expense of those who struggle in the National Division. This process occurs every during the offseason as each conference sees fit. This separation of programs, coupled with the ability to relegate them, ensures the consistent relative competitiveness of the entire governing body.

Conferences

There are exactly two conferences in the CCCAA. Programs are members of one of the two, as there are no conference “independents.” Teams in the northern part of the state are affiliated with the Northern California Football Conference (NCFC) while those in the south are affiliated with the Southern California Football Association (SCFA).

The primary function of CCCAA conferences is to schedule matchups for their members. Similar to divisions, inter-conference play is uncommon outside of the exhibition setting before the regular season or during the postseason. The exclusivity of conference play in the regular season fosters competitive, regional rivalries while keeping transportation costs low. Consistent, proximate competition also allows programs to measure themselves against their peers annually.

Leagues

Leagues sit at the lowest level of the CCCAA organizational structure. Each team is assigned to a league, which consists of roughly 5-8 programs in a given season. The assignment of teams into leagues is driven by geography to ensure opponents are proximate to each other. League play typically starts in the second half of the season. The top seed in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season is crowned league champion, which has postseason implications.

In most governing bodies, divisions are the highest level of organization within the body. Conferences are then a sub-organization of a division, and so on. This, however, is not the case with the CCCAA.

Divisions and conferences are on the same level of organization. In essence, neither is a child or parent organization of the other. Divisions ensure competitive balance, while conferences ensure regional scheduling, but neither oversees the other. To illustrate this relationship, we’ll use the Santa Monica Corsairs as an example:

Santa Monica is a member of the Pacific League. The Pacific League is within the SCFA and American Division. This means that, during the regular season, the Corsairs play their Pacific League opponents and a few teams in other leagues that are also within both the SCFA and American Division. The Metro League is the only other league that falls under this category in this scenario, meaning every one of Santa Monica’s non-Pacific League regular season opponents hail from the Metro.

Governance

Authority

The CCCAA is a member organization of the CCLC, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Organizations with this designation are tax-exempt, as outlined by 26 U.S. Code § 501 [5]:

“An organization described in subsection (c) or (d) or section 401(a) shall be exempt from taxation under this subtitle unless such exemption is denied under section 502 or 503.” [5]

“The following [exempt] organizations are referred to in subsection (a): Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” [5]

The CCCAA is granted the authority to govern its members by the state of California per the California State Education Code Section 78223 [3]:

“The governing board of a community college district may enforce rules and regulations relating to eligibility for and participation in intercollegiate athletics. The rules and regulations may include, but are not limited to, those adopted by a voluntary association, one of whose purposes is to govern intercollegiate athletics among schools and colleges.” [3]

Per the CCCAA’s constitution:

“The 3C2A functions as part of the Community College League of California (CCLC), a California nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 status granted by the United States Internal Revenue Service. The CCLC Board of Directors has delegated responsibility for the governance and fiscal affairs of the 3C2A to the 3C2A Board of Directors (Board), within the fiscal parameters established by the CCLC Board of Directors.” [4]

Additionally:

“All California community college student-athletes, athletic programs, and conferences shall be governed by the rules of the Constitution and Bylaws. Enforcement of statewide, conference, and member college compliance with the Constitution and Bylaws is the responsibility of the 3C2A Board and the Office of the 3C2A Executive Director (Office of the 3C2A Executive).” [4]

Structure

The 3C2A Board of Directors (Board) and 3C2A Management Council (MC) are the entities that run the CCCAA. The Board is the more prominent establishment of the two:

“The 3C2A Board of Directors (3C2A Board) serves as the ultimate authority and provides operational oversight of the 3C2A. The 3C2A Board is the policy-making body of the organization and, as such, approves all changes to the Constitution and Bylaws. The 3C2A Board defines the direction of the 3C2A, supervises the 3C2A Executive Director (3C2A Executive), and manages the 3C2A finances.” [4]

The MC advises the Board and is more oriented around the logistics of the organization:

“The 3C2A Management Council (MC) has primary responsibility for the operational rules of the intercollegiate athletic programs of the 3C2A.” [4]

As for conferences:

“Conferences serve as the administrative units of the California community college athletic programs.” [4]

Conferences are granted the authority to determine their internal organizational structure, rules of operation, procedures, and other administrative directives. They are not permitted to enact legislation that is “less stringent or change the intent of the Constitution and Bylaws” but are expected to establish regulations that include but are not limited to:

“Structure and format for regular season competition leading to the determination of a conference champion.” [4]

“Clear identification and final determination of place and order of finish of participating member programs.” [4]

Conferences are, therefore, the most direct authority that teams report to and take guidance from. This ensures the CCCAA’s policies are recognized, enforced, and appropriately updated at one of its lower levels within its greater organizational structure.

Scheduling

Regular Season

The CCCAA states that a team can play a maximum of 10 regular season contests but does not provide a minimum number of countable contests a team must play in a given season. In addition to 10 regular season contests, programs are permitted to compete in one scrimmage per season:

“Teams that participate in (1) scrimmage and/or game per year against alumni from their program. Such contest/date/game/meet/match will not count toward the maximum allowable for that sport and is permitted at any point during the season through the conference competition end date. Unofficial scores and statistics may be kept and publicized but will not count toward their official season record or results, or statistics. The alumni team may only be comprised of alumni from the team's program and no other outside teams or individuals may participate in the contest/date/game/meet/match.” [4]

“Conference championship events shall be counted as one (1) contest/date toward the maximum allowable contests or dates for that sport. Conference championship events shall be counted as one (1) contest on determining the institution’s completed events in that sport regardless of the number of games or days involved.” [4]

While conference championships generally count towards a team’s maximum allowable contests, this is not the case with football because conference championship play occurs under the State Championship tournament umbrella:

“The maximum number of contests does not include postconference competition games, meets, or matches.” [4]

Football teams are also permitted to participate in one foreign tour every three years and can compete in 2 games per tour.

The CCCAA’s regular season format is straightforward. First and foremost, teams play their league opponents. League play typically occurs consecutively in the second half of the season. The remainder of a team’s slate is against opponents from other leagues that are in the same conference and division as theirs. A team in the Bay 6 League, for example, may also play opponents in the NorCal or Valley leagues (all three fall within the National Division and NCFC.)

Postseason

Postseason play, including playoff/championship tournaments and bowl games, begins after the regular season has concluded.

State Championship

Every National Division program is eligible to compete for the CCCAA State Championship title. The playoff bracket consists of six teams from each conference that compete against each other before the championship game. The formula for selecting each conference’s qualifiers is the same. First, the conference’s three league champions are each awarded an automatic bid to the playoffs. Three at-large bids are then awarded to the best remaining non-league champions:

“There will be a six (6) team playoff in both the North and the South leading to a State Championship.” [6]

“The champions and remaining at-large berths of the National Division conferences in each region will compete in a six (6) team playoff to determine the Northern and Southern California regional champion to advance to the state championship game.” [6]

The association utilizes the following tiebreaker procedures in the order of their listing for determining league champions:

“Head-to-head competition or, if three (3)-way tie:” [6]

“The highest ranked team, per the NCFC/SCFA Power Ranking Index.” [6]

“Compare the wins of the tied teams against the top-ranked nonleague teams in the NCFC/SCFA Power Ranking Index (PRI) in the descending order, i.e. compare the tied teams with the team ranked #1, then with the team ranked #2, then with the team ranked #3, etc.” [6]

After selection, the qualifying teams are seeded 1–6 based on the PRI. These seedings dictate which teams participate in the first round, those that receive byes, and host sites:

1. The six teams qualifying for the playoffs will be seeded #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6 in the order of the final NCFC/SCFA Power Ranking Index. (Note: League Champions are not guaranteed a top seed)
2. The #1 and #2 seeded teams in each region will receive a bye
3. The first round of the playoffs will take place as follows:
1. Game One: #3 vs #6, with #3 being the host site
2. Game Two: #4 vs #5, with #4 being the host site
4. The second round of the playoffs will take place as follows:
1. Game Three: #1 vs Winner of Game Two, with #1 being the host site
2. Game Four: #2 vs Winner of Game One, with #2 being the host site
5. The Regional Finals of the playoffs will take place as follows:
1. Game Five: Winner of Game Three vs Winner of Game Four, with highest remaining seed being the host
6. Seeds will remain the same throughout the playoffs.

The two conference champions meet in the season finale, where a State Champion is ultimately crowned.

American Division Championship

American Division programs, while not eligible for the State Championship, compete for the opportunity to play in their conference’s American Division Championship. Each conference has two leagues in the American Division. The NCFC and SCFA league champions play in their respective championships to determine regional division titles.

Bowl Games

Each conference sponsors five bowl games for its best remaining non-playoff teams. The bowl game names and locations have varied through the years, but the matchups consistently pit the second, third, and even fourth seeds from different leagues against each other. Bowl games allow programs to learn, practice, and compete as a team for an additional week with the opportunity to put a bow on a successful regular season campaign.

Media Rights

Member institutions independently control their own media rights arrangements. Some choose to broadcast their games on industry-standard streaming platforms (e.g., HudlTV). These services allow institutions to enable a subscription service (i.e. a paywall) to generate additional revenue from viewership, should they choose. Others air games on general streaming platforms (e.g., YouTube) exclusively or in addition to another service.

The vast majority of CCCAA programs make their broadcasts available to the public at no cost. This is valuable to them and the association because it allows distant fans to stay engaged while exposing the programs to larger, emerging audiences. Instead of using a paywall, institutions can earn additional revenue from broadcasts with advertising.

Postseason participants may become subject to a new set of broadcasting agreements that take precedence over existing ones.

Recruitment

Coaches, staff, and all other agents of a CCCAA institution (representatives) are permitted to recruit athletes both in and outside of California, including those in rivaling school districts (prior to 2022, restrictions were placed on the recruitment of athletes outside a school’s designated district). The organization shares many of the same guiding principles for recruiting as its peers. For example, representatives are strictly prohibited from “subsidizing” or illegally “inducing” a current or prospective student-athlete. The CCCAA does not set a defined recruiting calendar or “periods”, but certain activities are prohibited based on the status and location of a student-athlete. For example, representatives are generally prohibited from having an off-campus face-to-face interaction with an out-of-state prospect. They can, however, invite a prospect to make an on-campus visit at the athlete’s own expense. Representatives can not communicate in any form or fashion with an enrolled, active student-athlete in another California community college unless said student formally indicates his intentions to transfer to the representative’s institution.

Compensation For Athletes

Scholarships

CCCAA member institutions are strictly prohibited from offering scholarships to students or groups of students that others would not be eligible for. This prevents schools from offering scholarships to athletes based on their athletic merit. Athletes are permitted, however, to accept the following forms of financial assistance:

“Federal or state aid.” [4]

“An academic grant which is based solely on academic achievement.” [4]

“A grant which is open to any other student on campus and which does not have athletic participation or athletic ability as one of the criteria.” [4]

“Other scholarships from on/off campus groups whose criteria are not based on athletic ability or participation.” [4]

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL)

Student-athletes at California community colleges are permitted to leverage their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) for financial gain. This right was first extended to junior college athletes in 2021 with the passing of the California Senate Bill 26 (SB 26). Per the CCCAA’s constitution [4]:

“Individuals may be compensated for name, image, and likeness activities, including those related to athletic reputation (NIL) as permitted by California state law and consistent with the Bylaws contained in this section.” [4]

The CCCAA’s NIL framework is straightforward and aligned with its peer organizations:

“Institutions are prohibited from providing a prospective or current student-athlete with compensation in relation to the student-athlete’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation (NIL).” [4]

“Institutions may prohibit student-athlete NIL activity if such activity is in conflict with a provision of existing institutional agreements.” [4]

“Student-athletes are required to disclose compensated NIL agreements/ activity to their institution’s athletic director no later than 72 hours of the agreement or activity occurring. Student-athletes are encouraged to disclose, where possible, such agreements prior to entering into them.” [4]

Athletes are permitted to:

“Use institutional marks with institutional approval as allowed by the institution.” [4]

“Identify themselves as a student-athlete at their respective institution in NIL activities as allowed by the institutions.” [4]

“Sell their personal team-related merchandise (equipment/apparel/shoes) provided to them by their institution, if such merchandise is normally retained by the student-athlete and not to be reused by the institution.” [4]

“Use institutional facilities subject to all applicable institutional processes for facility usage or rentals.” [4]

“Participate in crowdfunding and/ or fundraising activities for the purpose of financing their own business; raising money for a nonprofit or charitable entity; or under extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control for necessary educational and personal expenses, or family emergencies.” [4]

“Hire professional service providers to advise and represent student-athletes in developing and managing NIL opportunities.” [4]

While institutions cannot prohibit athletes from earning, they are granted specific rights by the CCCAA to regulate players’ NIL activities. Institutions, therefore, can:

“Prohibit student-athletes from wearing official team uniforms and apparel in the student-athlete’s NIL promotional activities.” [4]

“Prohibit student-athletes from using institutional marks; any institution/ district produced content including but not limited to, graphics, videos, and photos; and any copied or original content, including video or photos taken by cell phones, video cameras, or other devices at live athletic events in the student-athlete’s NIL promotional activities, without prior, express written consent from the institution/district and/or third-party media rights holder.” [4]

“Prohibit student-athletes from engaging in NIL activities during official team activities (games, practices, etc.).” [4]

“Provide educational programming to help current student-athletes with NIL rules compliance; reporting of NIL activities; and vetting of professional service providers.” [4]

This legislation works in conjunction with the pre-existing structure for financial compensation. Athletes cannot be compensated conditionally based on their performance or designated as employees of their school such that they operate within a “pay-for-play” environment.

References

1. CCCAA Brochure
2. Commission on Athletics Board Meeting Minutes (November 17, 2000)
3. California State Education Code
4. CCCAA Constitution and Bylaws (2024-2025)
5. United States Code
6. 3C2A Full & Fall Cycle Legislative Session (2024-25 Voting Results)