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Collegiate basketball tournament
The Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Even though the WAC was founded in 1964, the annual tournament has only been held since 1984.
The winner of the tournament is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Basketball Tournament every year.
Format and host
The event has alternated between being hosted at campus sites and neutral sites throughout its history. From the inaugural event in 1984 until 1992 the regular season champion hosted the tournament, but in 1993 and 1994 the event was held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City which, although located less than five miles from then-conference member Utah 's campus, was considered a neutral site. From 1995 through 2009 the event returned to on-campus sites, although the location was awarded through a predetermined bidding process rather than being given to the regular-season champion. Since 2010 the tournament has again been held at a neutral site, the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada .
Tournament results
Year
Winner
Score
Opponent
MVP
Venue
1984
UTEP
62–55
New Mexico
Juden Smith , UTEP
Special Events Center (El Paso, Texas )
1985
San Diego State
87–81
UTEP
Luster Goodwin , UTEP
Special Events Center (El Paso, Texas )
1986
UTEP
65–64
Wyoming
Eric Leckner , Wyoming
Arena-Auditorium (Laramie, Wyoming )
1987
Wyoming
64–62
New Mexico
Eric Leckner , Wyoming
The Pit (Albuquerque, New Mexico )
1988
Wyoming
79–75
UTEP
Eric Leckner , Wyoming
Marriott Center (Provo, Utah )
1989
UTEP
73–60
Colorado State
Tim Hardaway , UTEP
Jon M. Huntsman Center (Salt Lake City, Utah )
1990
UTEP
75–58
Hawaii
Greg Foster , UTEP
Special Events Center (El Paso, Texas )
1991
BYU
51–49
Utah
Shawn Bradley , BYU
Arena-Auditorium (Laramie, Wyoming )
1992
BYU
73–71
UTEP
Eddie Rivera , UTEP
Moby Arena (Fort Collins, Colorado )
1993
New Mexico
76–65
UTEP
Ike Williams , New Mexico
Delta Center (Salt Lake City )
1994
Hawaii
73–66
BYU
Trevor Ruffin , Hawaii
Delta Center (Salt Lake City )
1995
Utah
67–54
Hawaii
Keith Van Horn , Utah
The Pit (Albuquerque, New Mexico )
1996
New Mexico
64–60
Utah
Kenny Thomas , New Mexico
The Pit (Albuquerque, New Mexico )
1997
Utah
89–68
TCU
Keith Van Horn , Utah
Thomas & Mack Center (Paradise, Nevada )
1998
UNLV
56–51
New Mexico
Kenny Thomas , New Mexico
Thomas & Mack Center (Paradise, Nevada )
1999
Utah
60–45
New Mexico
Alex Jensen , Utah
Thomas & Mack Center (Paradise, Nevada )
2000
Fresno State
75–72
Tulsa
Courtney Alexander , Fresno State
Selland Arena (Fresno, California )
2001
Hawaii
78–72
Tulsa
Carl English , Hawaii
Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma )
2002
Hawaii
73–59
Tulsa
Predrag Savović , Hawaii
Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma )
2003
Tulsa
75–64
Nevada
Kevin Johnson , Tulsa
Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma )
2004
Nevada
66–60
UTEP
Kirk Snyder , Nevada
Save Mart Center (Fresno, California )
2005
UTEP
91–78
Boise State
Filiberto Rivera , UTEP
Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada )
2006
Nevada
70–63
Utah State
Nick Fazekas , Nevada
Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada )
2007
New Mexico State
72–70
Utah State
Justin Hawkins , New Mexico State
Pan American Center (Las Cruces, New Mexico )
2008
Boise State
107–102 3OT
New Mexico State
Reggie Larry , Boise State
Pan American Center (Las Cruces, New Mexico )
2009
Utah State
72–62
Nevada
Gary Wilkinson , Utah State
Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada )
2010
New Mexico State
69–63
Utah State
Jamhar Young , New Mexico State
Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada )
2011
Utah State
77–69
Boise State
Brockeith Pane , Utah State
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2012
New Mexico State
82–57
Louisiana Tech
Wendell McKines , New Mexico State
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2013
New Mexico State
64–55
Texas–Arlington
Sim Bhullar , New Mexico State
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2014
New Mexico State
77–55
Idaho
Sim Bhullar , New Mexico State
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2015
New Mexico State
80–61
Seattle
Tshilidzi Nephawe , New Mexico State
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2016
Cal State Bakersfield
57–54
New Mexico State
Dedrick Basile , Cal State Bakersfield
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2017
New Mexico State
70–60
Cal State Bakersfield
Ian Baker , New Mexico State
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2018
New Mexico State
72–58
Grand Canyon
Jemerrio Jones , New Mexico State
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2019
New Mexico State
89–57
Grand Canyon
Trevelin Queen , New Mexico State
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
2020
Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada )
Performance by school
School
Championships
Finals Record
Finals Appearances
Title Years
New Mexico State
9
9–2
11
2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
UTEP
5
5–5
10
1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 2005
Hawaii
3
3–2
5
1994, 2001, 2002
Utah
3
3–2
5
1995, 1997, 1999
Utah State
2
2–3
5
2009, 2011
Nevada
2
2–2
4
2004, 2006
New Mexico
2
2–4
6
1993, 1996
BYU
2
2–1
3
1991, 1992
Wyoming
2
2–1
3
1987, 1988
Cal State Bakersfield
1
1–1
2
2016
Boise State
1
1–2
3
2008
Tulsa
1
1–3
4
2003
Fresno State
1
1–0
1
2000
UNLV
1
1–0
1
1998
San Diego State
1
1–0
1
1985
Grand Canyon
0
0–2
2
Colorado State
0
0–1
1
Idaho
0
0–1
1
Louisiana Tech
0
0–1
1
Seattle
0
0–1
1
TCU
0
0–1
1
Texas–Arlington
0
0–1
1
Schools highlighted in yellow are current members of the WAC
Broadcasters
Television
Radio
See also
References
Teams Championships & awards Seasons
NCAA men's college basketball tournaments
Division I
Early season Defunct Early season Conference postseason Defunct Conference postseason Postseason Defunct Postseason
Division II
Conference postseason Defunct Conference postseason Postseason
Division III
Conference postseason Defunct Conference postseason Postseason