Western Athletic Conference

Western Athletic Conference
Name	Western Athletic Conference
Established	1962
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I
Subdivision	FCS (football)
Commissioner	Brian Thornton
Headquarters	Arlington, Texas
Region	Western United States
Members	9 (10 in 2024)
Sports	20
Womens	11
Website	wacsports.com

Western Athletic Conference. The Western Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division I conference, currently competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Founded in 1962, it has undergone significant membership changes, evolving from a major football-playing conference to its current non-football and FCS configuration. The league's headquarters are in Arlington, Texas, and its membership is primarily composed of institutions across the western and southwestern United States.

History

The conference was established on July 27, 1962, by a group of universities seeking an alternative to the Border Conference and the Skyline Conference. Charter members included institutions like the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of New Mexico, and Brigham Young University. For decades, it was a premier NCAA Division I-A/FBS conference, famously expanding to 16 members in 1996, which included the addition of schools from the dissolved Southwest Conference such as Texas Christian University and Rice University. This period of instability, often called "Conference USA" realignment, led to the departure of eight members in 1999 to form the Mountain West Conference. The league continued to experience volatility, eventually dropping FBS football after the 2012 season following the departures of schools like the University of Nevada, Reno, Fresno State University, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Under the leadership of commissioners such as Karl Benson and later Jeff Hurd, the WAC reinvented itself, adding FCS football in 2021 and absorbing several schools from the Southland Conference.

Member schools

The conference currently has nine full members, with an additional institution set to join in 2024. Full members include Abilene Christian University, California Baptist University, Grand Canyon University, Seattle University, Southern Utah University, Stephen F. Austin State University, Tarleton State University, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and Utah Tech University. University of Texas at Arlington will rejoin the conference in 2024. Several schools hold affiliate membership for specific sports; for instance, University of North Texas and the University of South Carolina participate in women's soccer. The geographic footprint spans states such as Texas, Utah, Arizona, Washington, and California, reflecting the conference's western identity.

Sports sponsored

The conference sponsors championship competition in 20 sports, nine for men and eleven for women. Men's sponsored sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field. Women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, triathlon, and volleyball. Notably, the WAC is one of the few conferences to sponsor women's triathlon at the varsity level. The league does not sponsor sports like wrestling or ice hockey.

Conference championships

The conference crowns champions in each sponsored sport, with tournaments held at campus sites or pre-determined neutral locations. The men's basketball tournament, known for its automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, has been won by programs like New Mexico State University and Grand Canyon University. In baseball, schools such as Fresno State University and Rice University have won multiple titles and advanced to the College World Series. The conference has also produced national champions in sports like women's volleyball, with University of Hawaii winning the NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament in 1987 while a member.

Facilities

Member institutions compete in notable venues across the country. These include the Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix, the Redhawk Center at Seattle University, and the William R. Johnson Coliseum at Stephen F. Austin State University. For football, games are held at stadiums like Wildcat Stadium in Abilene and Greater Zion Stadium in St. George. The conference's basketball tournaments have been held in locations such as the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay.

Media coverage

The conference has a long-standing media rights partnership with ESPN, with events broadcast across platforms like ESPN+, ESPNU, and ESPN2. Select men's basketball games and the conference football championship are often featured on linear television. The WAC also maintains a digital network for streaming non-televised events. Historically, major football games were broadcast on networks like Fox Sports Net and CBS Sports Network, especially during the league's FBS era featuring teams like Boise State University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Category:NCAA Division I conferences Category:Sports leagues established in 1962 Category:Sports organizations based in Texas