The Cal Poly Mustangs men's and women's basketball teams compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Big West Conference, typically functioning as a mid-major program that faces intense, formidable competition against conference powerhouses. While the basketball programs have historically experienced challenging rebuilding cycles and work tirelessly to navigate difficult conference schedules, they occasionally field resilient squads that pull off surprising upsets and demonstrate tremendous defensive grit on the hardwood of the Mott Athletics Center.