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Western Athletic Conference
(WAC)
Established1962
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision I FBS
Members10 (9 beginning July 1, 2013)
Sports fielded18 (men's: 7; women's: 11)
RegionWestern United States
West South Central United States
HeadquartersEnglewood, Colorado
CommissionerJeff Hurd (since 2012)
Websitewacsports.com
Locations

The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A). In football, the WAC is a non-automatic qualifier member of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) selection system. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States, with member institutions located in California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington, plus the "non-western" states of Louisiana and Texas (traditionally associated with the South). Many long-standing members left to form the Mountain West Conference or to join Conference USA. Three additional former members have moved on to the Pacific-12 Conference. Due to various members leaving the WAC, the conference will drop football as a sponsored sport after the 2012-13 season, therefore becoming a non-football conference.[1]

Member schools[]

Current members[]

The following institutions are the ten full members of the WAC for the 2012–2013 academic year.

Institution Nickname Location Founded Type Enrollment U.S. News
Ranking[2]
Joined WAC
Championships[3]
University of Denver Pioneers Denver, Colorado 1864 Private 11,885 &1000000000000008300000083
(National)
2012 1
University of Idaho Vandals Moscow, Idaho 1889 Public 12,312 &10000000000000165000000165
(National)
2005 7
Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs (men's)
Lady Techsters (women's)
Ruston, Louisiana 1894 Public 11,581 &10000000000000199000000199
(National)
2001 29
New Mexico State University Aggies Las Cruces, New Mexico 1888 Public 18,497 &10000000000000189000000189
(National)
2005 14
San Jose State University Spartans San Jose, California 1857 Public 33,805 &1000000000000030600000038
(Regional: West)
1996 14
Seattle University Redhawks Seattle, Washington 1891 Private 7,755 &1000000000000027800000010
(Regional: West)
2012 0
University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks Arlington, Texas 1895 Public 33,421 &10000000000000205000000205–270
(National)
2012 0
University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners San Antonio, Texas 1969 Public 30,968 &10000000000000205000000205–270
(National)
2012 0
Texas State University–San Marcos Bobcats San Marcos, Texas 1899 Public 34,113 &1000000000000031400000046
(Regional: West)
2012 0
Utah State University Aggies Logan, Utah 1888 Public 28,994 &10000000000000174000000174
(National)
2005 28

Pink denotes schools that will be departing on July 1, 2013. Yellow denotes a school that will be departing on July 1, 2014. Seven current members will leave the WAC on July 1, 2013:

One current member will leave the WAC on July 1, 2014:

Future members[]

Six new members will join the WAC on July 1, 2013:[4] [5] [6][7]

Institution Nickname Location Founded Type Enrollment Current Conference Joining
California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners Bakersfield, California 1965 Public 8,002 NCAA D-I Independent 2013
Chicago State University Cougars Chicago, Illinois 1867 Public 7,131 Great West 2013
Grand Canyon University Antelopes Phoenix, Arizona 1949 Private 40,000 PacWest
(NCAA Division II)
2013
University of Missouri–Kansas City[8] Kangaroos Kansas City, Missouri 1933 Public 14,499 Summit 2013
University of Texas–Pan American[9] Broncs Edinburg, Texas 1927 Public 17,048 Great West 2013
Utah Valley University Wolverines Orem, Utah 1941 Public 33,395 Great West 2013

Affiliate members[]

The following eight schools field programs in the WAC for sports not sponsored by their primary conferences.[10]

Institution Nickname Location Founded Type Enrollment Primary Conference WAC Sport(s) WAC
Championships[3]
Boise State University Broncos Boise, Idaho 1932 Public 19,664 Mountain West Women's gymmastics 3
California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners Bakersfield, California 1970 Public 7,600 NCAA D-I Independent
(full WAC member in 2013)
Baseball[11]
Women's swimming & diving
0
California State University, Sacramento Hornets Sacramento, California 1947 Public 27,972 Big Sky Baseball
Women's gymnastics
3
Dallas Baptist University Patriots Dallas, Texas 1898 Private 5,500 Heartland
(NCAA Division II)
Baseball[12] 0
University of North Dakota (none) Grand Forks, North Dakota 1883 Public 15,250 Big Sky Baseball[13]
Women's swimming & diving
0
Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks Flagstaff, Arizona 1899 Public 18,824 Big Sky Women's swimming & diving 0
University of Northern Colorado Bears Greeley, Colorado 1889 Public 10,097 Big Sky Baseball
Women's swimming & diving
0
Southern Utah University Thunderbirds Cedar City, Utah 1897 Public 7,509 Big Sky Women's gymnastics 1
  • Dallas Baptist will join the Missouri Valley Conference for baseball as of the 2014 season (2013-14 academic year).
  • North Dakota will join the WAC conference for baseball for the 2014 season (2013-14 academic year).

Former members[]

The WAC has 19 former members.

Institution Nickname Location Joined Departed WAC
Championships[3]
Current Conference
United States Air Force Academy Falcons Colorado Springs, Colorado 1980 1999 7 Mountain West
University of Arizona Wildcats Tucson, Arizona 1962 1978 18 Pac-12
Arizona State University Sun Devils Tempe, Arizona 1962 1978 29 Pac-12
Boise State University Broncos Boise, Idaho 2001 2011 32 Mountain West
Brigham Young University Cougars Provo, Utah 1962 1999 193 NCAA D-I FBS Independent (football)
WCC (all other sports)
California State University, Fresno Bulldogs Fresno, California 1992 2012 75 Mountain West
Colorado State University Rams Fort Collins, Colorado 1967 1999 15 Mountain West
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Rainbow Warriors
Rainbows
Warriors
Rainbow Wahine
Honolulu, Hawaii 1979 2012 62 Mountain West (football)
Big West (all other sports)
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels Las Vegas, Nevada 1996 1999 2 Mountain West
University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack Reno, Nevada 2000 2012 22 Mountain West
University of New Mexico Lobos Albuquerque, New Mexico 1962 1999 46 Mountain West
Rice University Owls Houston, Texas 1996 2005 29 C-USA
San Diego State University Aztecs San Diego, California 1978 1999 20 Mountain West
Southern Methodist University Mustangs University Park, Texas 1996 2005 39 C-USA
Texas Christian University Horned Frogs Fort Worth, Texas 1996 2001 18 Big 12
University of Texas at El Paso Miners El Paso, Texas 1967 2005 58 C-USA
University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tulsa, Oklahoma 1996 2005 14 C-USA
University of Utah Utes Salt Lake City, Utah 1962 1999 68 Pac-12
University of Wyoming Cowboys Laramie, Wyoming 1962 1999 24 Mountain West

Membership timeline[]

Utah Valley UniversityUniversity of Missouri–Kansas CityUniversity of Texas–Pan AmericanGrand Canyon UniversityChicago State UniversityCalifornia State University, BakersfieldSeattle UniversityThe Summit LeagueUniversity of DenverSun Belt ConferenceUniversity of Texas at ArlingtonSun Belt ConferenceTexas State University–San MarcosConference USAUniversity of Texas at San AntonioNew Mexico StateBig Sky ConferenceUniversity of IdahoMountain West ConferenceUtah State UniversityConference USALouisiana Tech UniversityMountain West ConferenceBoise State UniversityMountain West ConferenceUniversity of Nevada, RenoMountain West ConferenceSan Jose State UniversityConference USAUniversity of TulsaBig East ConferenceConference USASouthern Methodist UniversityConference USARice UniversityBig 12 ConferenceMountain West ConferenceConference USATexas Christian UniversityMountain West ConferenceUniversity of Nevada, Las VegasMountain West ConferenceCalifornia State University, FresnoMountain West ConferenceUnited States Air Force AcademyBig West ConferenceUniversity of Hawaiʻi at MānoaMountain West ConferenceSan Diego State UniversityConference USAUniversity of Texas at El PasoMountain West ConferenceColorado State UniversityMountain West ConferenceUniversity of WyomingPacific-12 ConferenceMountain West ConferenceUniversity of UtahMountain West ConferenceUniversity of New MexicoWest Coast ConferenceMountain West ConferenceBrigham Young UniversityPacific-12 ConferencePacific-12 ConferenceArizona State UniversityPacific-12 ConferencePacific-12 ConferenceUniversity of  Arizona

Full members Full members (non-football) Other conference Other conference

‡ In football, BYU is currently competing and Idaho will compete as NCAA Division I FBS independent schools.

∗ In football, Hawai'i currently competes in the Mountain West Conference.

History[]

Formation[]

The WAC formed out of a series of talks between Brigham Young University athletic director Eddie Kimball and other university administrators from 1958 to 1961 to form a new athletic conference that would better fit the needs and situations of certain universities which were at the time members of the Border, Skyline, and Pacific Coast Conferences. Potential member universities who were represented at the meetings included BYU, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Arizona State, and Wyoming. While the three Washington and Oregon schools elected to stay in a revamped Pac-8 Conference that replaced the scandal-plagued PCC, the remaining six schools formed the WAC, forcing the disbandment of the Border and Skyline conferences. The charter members of the WAC were Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. New Mexico State and Utah State applied for charter membership and were turned down; they would eventually become WAC members 43 years later.

Success and first expansion[]

The conference proved to be an almost perfect fit for the six schools from both a competitive and financial standpoint. Arizona and Arizona State, in particular, experienced success in baseball with Arizona garnering the 1963 College World Series (CWS) runner-up trophy and ASU winning the CWS in 1965, 1967, and 1969. Colorado State and Texas-El Paso (UTEP), at that time just renamed from Texas Western College, joined in 1967 to bring membership up to eight.

With massive growth in the state of Arizona, the balance of WAC play in the 1970s became increasingly skewed in favor of the Arizona schools, who won or tied for all but two WAC football titles from 1969 onward. In the summer of 1978, the two schools left the WAC for the Pac-8, which became the Pac-10, and were replaced in the WAC by San Diego State and, one year later, Hawaii. The WAC further expanded by adding Air Force in the summer of 1980. A college football national championship won by Brigham Young in 1984 added to the WAC's reputation as the best of the so-called mid-major conferences. This nine-team line-up of the WAC defined the conference for nearly 15 years.

Second wave of expansion and turbulence[]

Fresno State expanded its athletic program in the early 1990s and was granted membership in 1992 as the nationwide trend against major college programs independent of conferences accelerated. The WAC merged with the High Country Athletic Conference, a parallel organization to the WAC for women's athletics, in 1990 to unify both men's and women's athletics under one administrative structure.

In 1996, the WAC expanded again, adding six schools to its ranks for a total of sixteen. Rice, TCU, and SMU joined the league from the Southwest Conference, which had disbanded. Big West Conference members San Jose State and UNLV were also admitted, as well as Tulsa from the Missouri Valley Conference.[14] Also, two WAC members for men's sports at the time, Air Force and Hawaiʻi, brought their women's sports into the WAC. With the expansion, the WAC was divided into two divisions.

To help in organizing schedules and travel for the farflung league, the members were divided into four quadrants of four teams each, as follows:[14]

Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2 Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4
Hawaiʻi UNLV BYU Tulsa
Fresno State Air Force Utah TCU
San Diego State Colorado State New Mexico SMU
San Jose State Wyoming UTEP Rice

Quadrant one was always part of the Pacific Division, and quadrant four was always part of the Mountain Division. Quadrant two was part of the Pacific Division for 1996 and 1997 before switching to the Mountain Division in 1998, while the reverse was true for quadrant three. The scheduled fourth year of the alignment was abandoned after eight schools left to form the Mountain West Conference.[citation needed]

The division champions in football met from 1996 to 1998 in a championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium (also known as the Silver Bowl) in Henderson, Nevada.

Increasingly, this arrangement was not satisfactory to most of the older, pre-1990 members. Five members in particular (Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Utah, and Wyoming) felt that WAC expansion had compromised the athletic and academic excellence of the membership.[citation needed] Additional concerns centered around finances, as the new league stretched from Hawaiʻi to Oklahoma and travel costs became a concern. In 1999, those five schools, along with old line WAC schools New Mexico and San Diego State, as well as newcomer UNLV, split off and formed the new Mountain West Conference.

A USA Today article sums up why the league broke up. "With Hawaii and the Texas schools separated by about 3,900 miles and four time zones, travel costs were a tremendous burden for WAC teams. The costs, coupled with lagging revenue and a proposed realignment that would have separated rivals such as Colorado State and Air Force, created unrest among the eight defecting schools."[15][16]

WAC in the 2000s[]

In 2000, the University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada) of the Big West conference joined as part of its plan to upgrade its athletic program.

TCU left for Conference USA in 2001 (it would later leave C-USA to become the ninth member of the Mountain West in 2005, and joined the Big 12 in 2012).

When the Big West announced that it would drop football after the 2000 season, four of its members (Boise State, Idaho, New Mexico State, and Utah State) wanted to continue their football programs. Boise State was invited to join the WAC and promptly departed the Big West, while New Mexico State and Idaho joined the Sun Belt Conference (NMSU as a full member, Idaho as a "football only" member) and Utah State operated as an independent D-IA program. At the same time, Louisiana Tech (LA Tech) ended its independent D-IA status and also accepted an invitation to join the WAC with Boise State.

In 2005, Conference USA sought new members to replenish its ranks after losing members to the Big East, which had lost members to the ACC. Four WAC schools, former SWC schools Rice and SMU, as well as Tulsa, and UTEP, joined Conference USA. In response, the WAC added Idaho, New Mexico State, and Utah State – all former Big West schools which left the conference in 2000 along with Boise State when that conference dropped football. The three new schools were all land grant universities, bringing the conference total to five (Nevada and Hawaiʻi).

Membership changes and the elimination of football[]

File:WACLocations3.png

Locations of Western Athletic Conference member institutions for the 2012–13 academic year. Seattle and New Mexico State are the only current members not scheduled to leave the conference by 2014.

The decade of the 2010s began with a series of conference realignment moves that would have trickle-down effects throughout Division I football, and profoundly change the membership of the WAC. Boise State decided to move to the Mountain West Conference (MWC) for the 2011-12 season,[17] and to replace departing BYU, the MWC also recruited WAC members Fresno State and Nevada for 2012-13.[18] WAC commissioner Karl Benson courted several schools to replace those leaving, including the University of Montana, which declined,[19][20] as well as the University of Denver, University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas State University-San Marcos, which all accepted effective 2012-13.[21]

However, the resulting eastward shift of the conference's geographic center led the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to reduce travel expenses by joining the California-based Big West Conference (which does not sponsor football) and becoming a football-only member of the MWC.[22][23] Further invitations were then issued by the WAC to Seattle University[24] and the University of Texas at Arlington.[25] These changes meant that the WAC would have 10 members for 2012–13,[26] and Benson announced that the WAC planned to add two additional football-playing members to begin play in 2013.[27] A further boost came when Boise State decided to join the Big East in football, and return to the WAC in most other sports, as of the 2013–14 academic year.[28] So by the end of 2011, the WAC seemed to have weathered the latest round of conference changes.

But from this seemingly strong position, early 2012 brought forth a series of moves that called the long-term viability of the conference into question. First Utah State and San Jose State accepted offers to join the MWC.[29] Similar announcements followed, taking UTSA and Louisiana Tech to Conference USA, and Texas State and UT-Arlington to the Sun Belt Conference, all as of 2013-14.[30][31][32][33][34][35] Boise State also canceled plans to rejoin the WAC, instead opting to place its non-football sports in the Big West Conference.[36][37] These changes left the WAC's viability as a Division I football conference in doubt, so the two remaining programs, New Mexico State and Idaho, started planning to compete in future seasons as FBS Independents.[38][39]

In order to rebuild, as well as forestall further defections, the conference was forced to add two schools -- Utah Valley University, CSU Bakersfield -- were invited in October 2012 to join the WAC in 2013-14[40] but this did not prevent two more members leaving. Idaho opted to return all of its non-football sports to the Big Sky Conference in 2014-15[41] while Denver took most of its athletic teams to The Summit League as of the 2013-14 season.[42] The conference again reloaded by adding Grand Canyon University[43] and Chicago State University,[44] and extending an invitation to University of Texas-Pan American, which was accepted by approval of the UT System Board of Regents in mid-December.[45][46] Then in February 2013 the WAC announced that University of Missouri–Kansas City would join in 2013 as well.[8] These changes would put the membership of the conference in 2014 at eight members, of which only one, New Mexico State, had been a member of the conference just three years before. Due to the aforementioned departure of the majority of its football-playing members, the WAC will drop football as a sport after the 2012-13 season, thereby becoming a non-football conference.[1]

Commissioners[]

Years Commissioners
1962–1968 Paul Brechler
1968–1971 Wiles Hallock
1971–1980 Stan Bates
1980–1994 Joseph Kearney
1994–2012 Karl Benson
2012–present Jeff Hurd

Sports[]

The Western Athletic Conference currently sponsors championship competition in seven men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[47] Eight schools are currently Associate members in three sports.

Teams in Western Athletic Conference competition
Sport Men's Women's
Baseball
10
-
Basketball
10
10
Cross Country
9
8
Football
7
Note 1
-
Golf
8
6
Gymnastics
-
6
Note 2
Soccer
-
Note 3
9
Softball
-
8
Swimming & Diving
-
8
Note 4
Tennis Note 5
7
10
Track and Field (Indoor)
6
8
Track and Field (Outdoor)
8
9
Volleyball
-
10
  • Note 1 = With the changes in membership, football will not be a sponsored sport after 2012.
  • Note 2 = Of the six schools competing in women's gymnastics, three are Associate members, and the three member schools are all departing to other conferences. It seems likely that this competition will move to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) which has four competing women's gymnastics teams.
  • Note 3 = Men's soccer will become a sponsored sport; current member Seattle and future members Cal State-Bakersfield, Grand Canyon, and UMKC already compete in men's soccer, and future members Chicago State, Texas-Pan American, and Utah Valley are adding the sport for competition in the 2014 season.
  • Note 4 = Of the eight schools competing in women's swimming and diving, four are Associate members; of the full members only New Mexico State is remaining; of the five new members, only two compete in women's swimming and diving. If the Associates remain with the WAC, there will be seven schools to compete, otherwise this sport could move to the MPSF, which currently has eight teams competing.
  • Note 5 = Both New Mexico state and Seattle play men's and women's tennis as do three of the five new members; there remains some question of the continuance of these as WAC sponsored sports with only five teams.

Football[]

File:AmericanFootball current event.svg For the most recent season, see 2012 Western Athletic Conference football season

Team First
Season
All-Time
Record
All-Time
Win %
Bowl
Appearances
Bowl
Record
Conference
Titles
Stadium Head Coach
Idaho 1893 443–568–26 .427 2 2–0 9 Kibbie Dome Paul Petrino
Louisiana Tech 1901 571–428–37 .551 6 2–3–1 25 Joe Aillet Stadium Skip Holtz
New Mexico State 1893 422–587–31 .405 3 2–0–1 4 Aggie Memorial Stadium DeWayne Walker
San Jose State 1892 465–462–38 .478 8 5–3 16 Spartan Stadium Ron Caragher
Texas State 1904 489–410–28 .527 0 0–0 14 Bobcat Stadium Dennis Franchione
Utah State 1892 505–510–31 .482 6 1–5 11 Romney Stadium Matt Wells
UTSA 2011 12–10 .545 0 0–0 0 Alamodome Larry Coker

[48]

WAC champions

Bowl games

The lone WAC bowl game tie-in for the 2012–13 postseason was the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Pick Name Location Opposing Conference Opposing Pick
1 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise, Idaho MAC 3

Bowl Championship Series

The WAC champion received an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games if they were the highest ranked non-automatic qualifying conference champion and either of the following:

  • Ranked in the top 12 of the BCS Rankings.
  • Ranked in the top 16 of the BCS Rankings and its ranking was higher than that of an automatic qualifying conference champion.

By qualifying under the first criterion above, the 2006 Boise State football team landed a berth in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and the 2007 Hawaiʻi football team received a bid to play in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. In 2009 the Mountain West champion TCU received the automatic BCS bid by finishing higher than Boise State in the final BCS rankings; however, the Broncos received an at-large BCS bid to the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. In three BCS bowl games, the WAC boasted a record of two wins and one loss. In addition to those three teams that played in BCS bowls, four other WAC teams qualified for a BCS berth but were not selected for a bid, including TCU in 2000 and Boise State in 2004, 2008, and 2010.

Rivalries

Football rivalries involving WAC teams included:

Teams Rivalry Name Trophy Meetings Record Series Leader Current Streak
Idaho Boise State Governor's Trophy 40 17–22–1 Boise State Boise State won 12
Idaho Montana Little Brown Stein 84 55–27–2 Idaho Montana won 4
Idaho Washington State Battle of the Palouse 91 18–70–3 Washington State Washington State won 7
Louisiana Tech Fresno State Battle for the Bone 11 4–7 Fresno State Louisiana Tech won 1
Louisiana Tech Southern Miss Rivalry in Dixie 44 13–31 Southern Miss Southern Miss won 3
New Mexico State New Mexico Rio Grande Rivalry Maloof Trophy 102 31–66–5 New Mexico New Mexico won 1
New Mexico State UTEP The Battle of I-10 Silver Spade, Brass Spittoon 88 35–51–2 UTEP UTEP won 2
San Jose State Fresno State Valley Rivalry 76 34–39–3 Fresno State San Jose State won 1
San Jose State Stanford Bill Walsh Legacy Game 64 14–49–1 Stanford Stanford won 3
Utah State BYU Old Wagon Wheel 80 34–44–3 BYU BYU won 1
Utah State Utah Battle of the Brothers 109 28–77–4 Utah Utah State won 1

Men's basketball[]

Team First
Season
All-Time
Record
All-Time
Win %
NCAA Tournament
Appearances
NCAA Tournament
Record
Arena Head Coach
Denver 1904 1168–1206 .492 0 0–0 Magness Arena Joe Scott
Idaho 1906 1222–1368 .472 4 1–4 Cowan Spectrum Don Verlin
Louisiana Tech 1926 1171–921 .560 5 4–5 Thomas Assembly Center Michael White
New Mexico State 1905 1329–1018–2 .566 18 10–20 Pan American Center Marvin Menzies
San Jose State 1910 1102–1242 .470 3 0–3 Event Center Arena George Nessman
Seattle 1946 978–874 .528 11 10–13 KeyArena Cameron Dollar
Texas–Arlington 1960 585–832 .413 1 0–1 College Park Center Scott Cross
Texas State 1921 1191–1029 .536 2 0–2 Strahan Coliseum Doug Davalos
Utah State 1904 1443–998 .591 20 6–22 Smith Spectrum Stew Morrill
UTSA 1982 456–408 .528 4 1–4 Convocation Center Brooks Thompson

WAC tournament

Rivalries

Men's basketball rivalries involving WAC teams include:

Teams Meetings Record Series Leader Current Streak
Idaho Boise State 85 35–50 Boise State Boise State Won 2
New Mexico State New Mexico 208 95–113 New Mexico New Mexico Won 1
New Mexico State UTEP 200 102–98 New Mexico State UTEP Won 1
Texas–Arlington UTSA 64 37–27 UTSA UTSA Won 1
Texas–Arlington Texas State 55 30–25 Texas State UTA Won 2
UTSA Texas State 53 31–22 UTSA Texas State Won 1
Utah State BYU 227 91–136 BYU Utah State Won 1
Utah State Utah 223 93–130 Utah Utah State Won 1

Awards

Women's basketball[]

Team First
Season
All-Time
Record
All-Time
Win %
NCAA Tournament
Appearances
NCAA Tournament
Record
Arena Head Coach
Denver 1974 481–368 .567 1 0–1 Magness Arena Kerry Cremeans
Idaho 1975 503–511 .496 1 0–1 Cowan Spectrum Jon Newlee
Louisiana Tech 1975 1000–212 .825 27 65–25 Thomas Assembly Center Teresa Weatherspoon
New Mexico State 1983 437–406 .518 2 0–2 Pan American Center Mark Trakh
San Jose State 1975 328–662 .331 0 0–0 Event Center Arena Tim La Kose
Seattle 1978 . 0 0–0 Connolly Center Joan Bonvicini
Texas–Arlington 1973 554–550 .502 2 0–2 College Park Center Samantha Morrow
Texas State 1983 401–408 .496 2 0–2 Strahan Coliseum Zenarae Antoine
Utah State 1983 105–263 .285 0 0–0 Smith Spectrum Jerry Finkbeiner
UTSA 1982 429–414 .509 2 0–2 Convocation Center Rae Rippetoe-Blair

WAC tournament

Rivalries

Women's basketball rivalries involving WAC teams include:

Teams Meetings Record Series Leader Current Streak
Louisiana Tech Fresno State 26 17–9 Louisiana Tech Fresno State Won 1
Louisiana Tech LSU 26 14–12 Louisiana Tech LSU Won 5
Louisiana Tech Tennessee 41 17–24 Tennessee Tennessee Won 9
Louisiana Tech Western Kentucky 39 26–13 Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech Won 2
Texas–Arlington UTSA 54 30–24 UTA UTA Won 2
Texas–Arlington Texas State 57 26–31 Texas State UTA Won 1
UTSA Texas State 39 10–29 UTSA Texas State Won 1

Baseball[]

The WAC has claimed seven NCAA baseball national championships. The most recent WAC national champion is the 2008 Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team.

WAC tournament

Championships[]

Current WAC champions[]

Fall 2011

Sport School
Football Louisiana Tech
Soccer (W) Utah State
Volleyball (W) Hawaiʻi
Cross Country (M) Utah State
Cross Country (W) Idaho

Winter 2012

Sport School
Basketball (M) Nevada
New Mexico State
Basketball (W) Fresno State
Indoor Track & Field (M) Idaho
Indoor Track & Field (W) Utah State
Swimming & Diving (W) San Jose State
Gymnastics (W) Denver
San Jose State

Spring 2011

Sport School
Baseball Fresno State
Nevada
New Mexico State
Sacramento State
Softball BYU
Hawaii
Outdoor Track & Field (M) Idaho
Outdoor Track & Field (W) Utah State
Golf (M) San Jose State
Golf (W) San Jose State
Tennis (M) Fresno State
Tennis (W) Hawaii

National championships[]

The following teams have won NCAA national championships while being a member of the WAC:

  • Arizonabaseball (1976)
  • Arizona State – baseball (1965, 1967, 1969, 1977)
  • BYUmen's track & field (shared the national title in 1970)
  • BYUmen's golf (1981)
  • BYUwomen's cross country (1997)
  • Fresno Statesoftball (1998)
  • Fresno State – baseball (2008)
  • Rice – baseball (2003)
  • UTEP – NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country (1969, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981)
  • UTEP – NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field (1974,1975,1976,1978,1980,1981,1982)
  • UTEP – NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field (1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982)
  • UNLVmen's golf (1998)

The WAC has also produced one AP national champion in football:

The following teams won AIAW (and forerunner DGWS) women's national championships while their universities were members of the WAC:

  • Arizona State (13) – swimming (6), badminton (4), softball (2), golf (1)
  • Utah (3) – cross country (Div. II), gymnastics, skiing
  • UTEP (1) – indoor track and field

The following current WAC teams have won NCAA national championships:

  • Denver
    • Ice Hockey (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005)
    • Skiing (1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010)
  • Louisiana Tech – Women's basketball (1981, 1982, 1988)
  • Idaho – Boxing (1940, 1941, 1950)
  • San Jose State
    • Boxing (1958, 1959, 1960)
    • Men's cross country (1962, 1963)
    • Men's golf (1948)
    • Women's golf (1987, 1989, 1992)
    • Men's outdoor track and field (1969)

Facilities[]

School Football stadium Capacity Basketball arena Capacity Baseball park Capacity
Cal State Bakersfield Non-football school Icardo Center 3,800 Hardt Field* 900
Chicago State Non-football school Jones Convocation Center 7,000 New Baseball Stadium N/A
Dallas Baptist Baseball-only member Patriot Field* 1,500
Denver Non-football school Magness Arena 7,200 Non-baseball school
Grand Canyon Non-football school GCU Arena 5,000 Brazell Stadium 1,500
Idaho Kibbie Dome 16,000 Cowan Spectrum 7,000 Non-baseball school
Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium 30,600 Thomas Assembly Center 8,098 J. C. Love Field 3,000
New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium 30,343 Pan American Center 13,071 Presley Askew Field 750
Sacramento State Baseball-only member John Smith Field* 1,200
San Jose State Spartan Stadium 30,578 Event Center Arena 5,000 San Jose Municipal Stadium 5,200
Seattle Non-football school KeyArena 17,072 Bannerwood Park N/A
Texas–Arlington Non-football school College Park Center 6,500 Clay Gould Ballpark 1,600
Texas–Pan American Non-football school UTPA Fieldhouse 4,000 Edinburg Stadium 4,000
Texas State Bobcat Stadium 30,000 Strahan Coliseum 7,200 Bobcat Baseball Stadium 2,000
Utah State Romney Stadium 25,500 Smith Spectrum 10,270 Non-baseball school
Utah Valley Non-football school UCCU Center 8,500 Brent Brown Ballpark 5,000
UMKC Non-football school Swinney Recreation Center 2,000 Non-baseball school
UTSA Alamodome 65,000 Convocation Center 5,100 Roadrunner Field 800

Note: Future members highlighted in gray. Members leaving highlighted in pink.

Awards[]

Commissioner's Cup

The WAC awards its Commissioner's Cup to the school that performs the best in each of the conference's 19 men's and women's championships.

Joe Kearney Award

Named in honor of former WAC commissioner Dr. Joseph Kearney, the awards are given annually to the top male and female WAC athlete. The various WAC member institutions Athletics Directors select the male award winner, while the WAC member instituitions Senior Women's Administrators choose the female honoree.

Stan Bates Award

The award is named in honor of former WAC Commissioner Stan Bates and honors the WAC's top male and female scholar-athletes, recognizing the recipients’ athletic and academic accomplishments. In addition, the awards carry a $2,000 postgraduate scholarship.

Media[]

WAC Sports Network[]

File:WACsportsnet.jpg

In 2010, the WAC initiated the WAC Sports Network to increase television exposure throughout the conference's media markets. Football and basketball games were produced and distributed throughout the year. The network lasted two seasons and has ceased to operate, but it could be brought back if Learfield Sports, which operated the network, gains additional broadcast rights among new WAC teams.

WAC.tv[]

WAC.tv is a subscription-based provider of live and on-demand online streaming video of WAC events.

References[]

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External links[]

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