The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States]] with mber institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah and Washington along with the Midwest state of Illinois and the Southern state of Texas.
Due to most of the conference's football-playing members leaving the WAC for other affiliations, the conference discontinued football as a sponsored sport after the 2012–13 season and left the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A). The WAC thus became the first Division I conference to drop football since the Big West in 2000. The WAC then added men's soccer and became one of the NCAA's eleven Division I non-football conferences.[1] The WAC underwent a major expansion on July 1, 2021, with four schools joining. The conference reinstated football at that time and will compete in the Football Championship Subdivision. On July 1, 2022, one non-football school (Chicago State) will leave, and another FCS football school (Southern Utah) will join.[2][3][4]
Current Teams[]
These are the football programs of the WAC in 2021:
Team | Location | Stadium |
Abilene Christian Wildcats | Abilene, Texas | Wildcat Stadium |
Dixie State Trailblazers | St. George, Utah | Trailblazer Stadium |
Lamar Cardinals | Beaumont, Texas | Provost Umphrey Stadium |
Sam Houston State Bearkats | Huntsville, Texas | Bowers Stadium |
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks | Nacogdoches, Texas | Homer Bryce Stadium]] |
Tarleton State Texans | Stephenville, Texas | Memorial Stadium |
The conference will add the Southern Utah Thunderbirds as a full member in 2022.
Previous Teams[]
Team | Location | Stadium |
Idaho Vandals | Moscow, Idaho | Kibbie Dome |
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs | Ruston, Louisiana | Joe Aillet Stadium |
New Mexico State Aggies | Las Cruces, New Mexico | Aggie Memorial Stadium |
San Jose State Spartans | San Jose, California | Spartan Stadium |
Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners | San Antonio, Texas | Alamodome |
Texas State Bobcats | San Marcos, Texas | Bobcat Stadium |
Utah State Aggies | Logan, Utah | Romney Stadium |
Seasons[]
- 2012 season
By Year[]
Season | Champion | Conference Record |
---|---|---|
1962 | New Mexico | 2-1-1 |
1963 | New Mexico | 3-1 |
1964 | Arizona | 3-1 |
New Mexico | 3-1 | |
Utah | 3-1 | |
1965 | BYU | 4-1 |
1966 | Wyoming | 5-0 |
1967 | Wyoming | 5-0 |
1968 | Wyoming | 6-1 |
1969 | Arizona State | 6-1 |
1970 | Arizona State | 7-0 |
1971 | Arizona State | 7-0 |
1972 | Arizona State | 5-1 |
1973 | Arizona | 6-1 |
Arizona State | 6-1 | |
1974 | BYU | 6-0-1 |
1975 | Arizona State | 7-0 |
1976 | BYU | 6-1 |
Wyoming | 6-1 | |
1977 | Arizona State | 6-1 |
BYU | 6-1 | |
1978 | BYU | 5-1 |
1979 | BYU | 7-0 |
1980 | BYU | 6-1 |
1981 | BYU | 7-1 |
1982 | BYU | 7-1 |
1983 | BYU | 7-0 |
1984 | BYU | 8-0 |
1985 | Air Force | 7-1 |
BYU | 7-1 | |
1986 | San Diego State | 7-1 |
1987 | Wyoming | 8-0 |
1988 | Wyoming | 8-0 |
1989 | BYU | 7-1 |
1990 | BYU | 7-1 |
1991 | BYU | 7-0-1 |
1992 | BYU | 6-2 |
Fresno State | 6-2 | |
Hawaiʻi | 6-2 | |
1993 | BYU | 6-2 |
Fresno State | 6-2 | |
Wyoming | 6-2 | |
1994 | Colorado State | 7-1 |
1995 | Air Force | 6-2 |
BYU | 6-2 | |
Colorado State | 6-2 | |
Utah | 6-2 | |
1996 | BYU | 8-0 |
1997 | Colorado State | 7-1 |
1998 | Air Force | 7-1 |
1999 | Hawaiʻi | 5-2 |
Fresno State | 5-2 | |
TCU | 5-2 | |
2000 | TCU | 7-1 |
UTEP | 7-1 | |
2001 | Louisiana Tech | 7-1 |
2002 | Boise State | 8-0 |
2003 | Boise State | 8-0 |
2004 | Boise State | 8-0 |
2005 | Boise State | 7-1 |
Nevada | 7-1 | |
2006 | Boise State | 8-0 |
2007 | Hawaiʻi | 8-0 |
2008 | Boise State | 8-0 |
2009 | Boise State | 8-0 |
2010 | Nevada | 7-1 |
Boise State | 7-1 | |
Hawaiʻi | 7-1 | |
2011 | Louisiana Tech | 6-1 |
2012 | Utah State | 6-0 |
By School[]
School | Total | Outright | Shared |
---|---|---|---|
BYU | 19 | 13 | 6 |
Boise State | 8 | 6 | 2 |
Arizona State | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Wyoming | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Colorado State | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Air Force | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Hawaiʻi | 4 | 1 | 3 |
Fresno State | 3 | 0 | 3 |
New Mexico | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Arizona | 2 | 0 | 2 |
TCU | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Utah | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Louisiana Tech | 2 | 2 | 0 |
San Diego State | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Nevada | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Utah State | 1 | 1 | 0 |
UTEP | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Schools in bold are Current Members of the WAC |
Championship games (1996–1998)[]
The Western Athletic Conference staged a conference title football game during the three years (1996-98) the league consisted of sixteen members. During this time, the league was split into two divisions, Pacific and Mountain, with eight teams in each division. The top finisher in each division played for the championship, which was held at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. When conference membership was cut in half in 1999 with the formation of the Mountain West Conference, the title game was discontinued and the league did away with the two-division format. The rankings next to a given team's name represent the last AP poll prior to the game being played. ABC Sports televised all three games.
Year | Winner | Score | Opponent |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | #6 BYU | 28-25 (OT) | #20 Wyoming |
1997 | #20 Colorado State | 41-13 | New Mexico |
1998 | #17 Air Force | 20-13 | BYU |
Division alignments (1996–1998)[]
Pacific Division
- BYU
- Fresno State
- Hawaii
- New Mexico
- San Diego State
- San Jose State
- Utah
- UTEP
Mountain Division
- Air Force
- Colorado State
- Rice
- SMU
- TCU
- Tulsa
- UNLV
- Wyoming
- ↑ Irv Moss. "WAC to drop football after 2012 season, commissioner Hurd says", The Denver Post, August 20, 2012.
- ↑ Template:Cite press release
- ↑ Martinez, Quinton. "Four Texas schools announce departure from Southland Conference for WAC", January 14, 2021.
- ↑ Dean, Richard. "Why the Texas four left for the Southland for the WAC", January 14, 2021.