Western Athletic Conference football
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) sponsored football and crowned a champion every year from 1962 to 2012. Once considered one of the best conferences in college football, steady attrition from 1999 to 2012 forced the WAC to drop football after fifty-one years.[1]
| WAC football champions | |
|---|---|
| Conference Football Champions | |
 Western Athletic Conference Logo | |
| Sport | Football |
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Played | 1962–2012, 2021–present |
| Current champion | Sam Houston Bearkats |
| Most championships | BYU Cougars (19) |
| Official website | WACSports.com Football |
On January 14, 2021, the WAC announced its intention to reinstate football as a conference-sponsored sport at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, as well as the addition of five new members to the conference in all sports, including football.[2] The new members announced include: Abilene Christian University, Lamar University, Sam Houston State University, and Stephen F. Austin State University, all currently of the Southland Conference, along with Southern Utah University, currently of the Big Sky Conference. Original plans were for all new members to join in July 2022, but after the Southland Conference expelled its departing members, the WAC moved the arrival of those four schools and the relaunch of football to July 2021. Southern Utah's entry remains on the 2022 schedule.[3][4] The WAC football league will also include Dixie State University and Tarleton State University, both of which played as FCS independents in 2020–21 after having moved from NCAA Division II to the WAC for non-football sports in July 2020. The conference also announced that it will most likely add another football-playing institution at a later date. The conference has been speculated to move back up to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in the future following the reestablishment of the football conference at the FCS level.[5]
On the same day, news broke that The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), a non-football playing member of the conference, had committed to create an FCS football program by 2024.[6] The program would most likely compete as part of the newly-reinstated WAC football conference.
For at least its first season in 2021, the relaunched WAC football league will be branded as the ASUN–WAC (or WAC–ASUN) Challenge, with the WAC establishing a temporary football partnership with the ASUN Conference. The ASUN plans to start its own FCS football league, but not until at least 2022. Under the partnership, three FCS programs that are joining the ASUN in July 2021 will play alongside current WAC members.[7][8]
Former members
The WAC has 26 former football-playing members.
Current members
The WAC resumed play in the 2021 fall season with 9 members. Before the reinstatement of football was officially announced, media reports indicated that the WAC might add two more schools to join the conference for football.[9] On the same day that WAC confirmed the return of football, full conference member UTRGV announced that it would start an FCS football program no later than 2024. By the end of January 2021, three more schools were brought into WAC football for the 2021 fall season only. All are incoming members of the ASUN Conference, which plans to start an FCS football league in 2022.[10] The WAC–ASUN Challenge consists of the seven teams that are eligible for the FCS playoffs. Dixie State and Tarleton are included in alliance scheduling, but because of their ongoing transitions from NCAA Division II to Division I are ineligible for the playoffs until the 2024 season. Games against these schools do not count in alliance standings, although games against full WAC members count in the separate WAC league table.[7][8]
| Team | Location | Nickname | Stadium | Capacity | Current Primary Conference | Starting Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian | Abilene, TX | Wildcats | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium | 12,000 | WAC | 2021 |
| Central Arkansas | Conway, AR | Bears | Estes Stadium | 12,000 | ASUN | 2021 |
| Dixie State | St. George, UT | Trailblazers | Greater Zion Stadium | 10,000 | WAC | 2021 |
| Eastern Kentucky | Richmond, KY | Colonels | Roy Kidd Stadium | 20,000 | ASUN | 2021 |
| Jacksonville State | Jacksonville, AL | Gamecocks | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium | 24,000 | ASUN | 2021 |
| Lamar | Beaumont, TX | Cardinals | Provost Umphrey Stadium | 16,000 | WAC | 2021 |
| Sam Houston State | Huntsville, TX | Bearkats | Bowers Stadium | 12,593 | WAC | 2021 |
| Stephen F. Austin | Nacogdoches, TX | Lumberjacks | Homer Bryce Stadium | 14,575 | WAC | 2021 |
| Tarleton State | Stephenville, TX | Texans | Memorial Stadium | 10,000 | WAC | 2021 |
| Southern Utah | Cedar City, UT | Thunderbirds | Eccles Coliseum | 8,500 | Big Sky | 2022 |
| UTRGV | Edinburg, TX | Vaqueros | TBD | TBD | WAC (forming a new program) |
2024 (or sooner) |
Conference championships
By year
By team
| Team | Championships | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Outright | Shared | |
| BYU | 19 | 13 | 6 |
| Boise State | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| Arizona State | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Wyoming | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Hawaii | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Colorado State | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Air Force | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Fresno State | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Louisiana Tech | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Arizona | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Nevada | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| TCU | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Utah | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Sam Houston State | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| San Diego State | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| UTEP | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Utah State | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Championship game
Bowl games
The first bowl game appearance by a WAC team was at the 1964 Liberty Bowl, where Utah defeated West Virginia of the Southern Conference, 32–6.[11]
The WAC had conference tie-ins with various bowl games during its history, including:
- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (2000–2012)
- Hawaii Bowl (2002–2011)
- Holiday Bowl (1978–1997)
Bowl Championship Series
The WAC champion received an automatic berth in one of the five Bowl Championship Series (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, Boise State landed a berth in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and Hawaii received a bid to play in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. In 2009, the Mountain West champion TCU Horned Frogs received the automatic BCS bid by finishing higher than Boise State in the final BCS rankings. However, Boise State received a BCS at-large bid and defeated TCU in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. In three BCS bowl games, the WAC recorded 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 to play in a BCS bowl game: TCU in 2000 and Boise State in 2004, 2008, and 2010.
| Bowl | WAC | Opponent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Team | Score | Conference | |
| 2007 Fiesta Bowl | #9 Boise State | 43 | #7 Oklahoma | 42 | Big 12 |
| 2008 Sugar Bowl | #10 Hawaii | 10 | #4 Georgia | 41 | SEC |
| 2010 Fiesta Bowl | #6 Boise State | 17 | #3 TCU | 10 | Mountain West |
Rivalries
Notable football rivalries involving WAC teams are listed below. Records are not limited to years that the WAC was active.
| Teams | Rivalry | Years | Games | Series leader (W–L–T) | Current win streak | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | Boise State | Governor's Trophy | 1971–2010 | 40 | Boise State (22–17–1) | Boise State (12) | [12] |
| New Mexico State | New Mexico | Rio Grande Rivalry | 1894–2018 | 109 | New Mexico (71–33–5) | New Mexico (1) | [13] |
| New Mexico State | UTEP | The Battle of I-10 | 1914–2018 | 96 | UTEP (57–37–2) | New Mexico State (2) | [14] |
| San Jose State | Fresno State | Valley Rivalry | 1921–2018 | 82 | Fresno State (42–37–3) | Fresno State (2) | [15] |
| Sam Houston State | Stephen F. Austin | Battle of the Piney Woods | 1923–Present | 95 | Sam Houston State (58–35–2) | Sam Houston State (10) | [16] |
| Utah State | BYU | Old Wagon Wheel | 1922–2018 | 88 | BYU (48–37–3) | Utah State (2) | [17] |
| Utah State | Utah | Battle of the Brothers | 1892–2015 | 113 | Utah (79–30–4) | Utah (2) | [18] |
Divisional alignment
Starting in 1996, the 16 conference members were divided info four pods, each with four teams. Two pods comprised the Pacific Division, and the other two pods were the Mountain Division. Pod one would always compete in Pacific, while pod four would always compete in Mountain. The other two pods were scheduled to swap divisions every two years, with the new alignment to take effect in even-numbered years. The pods and divisional alignment were discontinued after 1998.
| Pod | Teams | Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | ||
| 1 | Fresno State Hawaii San Diego State San Jose State | Pacific | Pacific | Pacific |
| 2 | Air Force Colorado State UNLV Wyoming | Pacific | Pacific | Mountain |
| 3 | BYU New Mexico Utah UTEP | Mountain | Mountain | Pacific |
| 4 | Rice SMU TCU Tulsa | Mountain | Mountain | Mountain |
References
- "Western Athletic Conference considers becoming a non-football league". July 3, 2012.
- "WAC Announces Expansion, Plans to Reinstate Football" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- Blum, Sam (January 14, 2021). "As WAC announces addition of 5 schools, Frisco-based Southland Conference left in no man's land". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- "WAC Announces Expedited Entrance for Four Texas Institutions" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- Deaver, Colin. "Reports: WAC football to return in 2022, rise to FBS later in decade". KTSM.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- Jeyarajah, Shehan. "UTRGV commits to add FCS football by 2024". Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- "ASUN, WAC Conferences Announce Football Partnership for 2021" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- "From the Commissioner's Desk: @ASUN_Football Update" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- Vejar, Alex (January 6, 2021). "Report: Two Utah schools in plans for return of WAC football in 2022". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Jeyarajah, Shehan (January 28, 2021). "Report: Three schools to join WAC football for 2021 season only". Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- "1964 Western Athletic Conference Year Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- "Winsipedia - Idaho Vandals vs. Boise State Broncos football series history". Winsipedia.
- "Winsipedia - New Mexico State Aggies vs. New Mexico Lobos football series history". Winsipedia.
- "Winsipedia - New Mexico State Aggies vs. UTEP Miners football series history". Winsipedia.
- "Winsipedia - San Jose State Spartans vs. Fresno State Bulldogs football series history". Winsipedia.
- "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NRG Stadium made permanent home of Battle of the Piney Woods".
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Winsipedia - Utah State Aggies vs. BYU Cougars football series history". Winsipedia.
- "Winsipedia - Utah State Aggies vs. Utah Utes football series history". Winsipedia.