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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|-
! Team || Location || Nickname || Current Primary Conference || Starting Year
! Team || Location || Nickname || Stadium || Capacity ||Current Primary Conference || Starting Year
|-
|-
|'''[[Abilene Christian Wildcats football|Abilene Christian]]'''
|'''[[Abilene Christian Wildcats football|Abilene Christian]]'''
|[[Abilene, Texas|Abilene, TX]]
|[[Abilene, Texas|Abilene, TX]]
|Wildcats
|Wildcats
|[[Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium]]
|12,000
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
|2021
|2021
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| [[Conway, Arkansas|Conway, AR]]
| [[Conway, Arkansas|Conway, AR]]
| Bears
| Bears
|[[Estes Stadium]]
|12,000
| [[ASUN Conference|ASUN]]
| [[ASUN Conference|ASUN]]
|2021
|2021
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|{{sort|Saint George|[[St. George, Utah|St. George, UT]]}}
|{{sort|Saint George|[[St. George, Utah|St. George, UT]]}}
|Trailblazers
|Trailblazers
|[[Greater Zion Stadium]]
|10,000
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
|2021
|2021
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|[[Richmond, Kentucky|Richmond, KY]]
|[[Richmond, Kentucky|Richmond, KY]]
|Colonels
|Colonels
|[[Roy Kidd Stadium]]
|20,000
| [[ASUN Conference|ASUN]]
| [[ASUN Conference|ASUN]]
|2021
|2021
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|[[Jacksonville, Alabama|Jacksonville, AL]]
|[[Jacksonville, Alabama|Jacksonville, AL]]
|Gamecocks
|Gamecocks
|[[Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium]]
|24,000
| [[ASUN Conference|ASUN]]
| [[ASUN Conference|ASUN]]
|2021
|2021
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|[[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont, TX]]
|[[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont, TX]]
|Cardinals
|Cardinals
|[[Provost Umphrey Stadium]]
|16,000
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
|2021
|2021
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|[[Huntsville, Texas|Huntsville, TX]]
|[[Huntsville, Texas|Huntsville, TX]]
|Bearkats
|Bearkats
|[[Bowers Stadium]]
|12,593
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
|2021
|2021
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|[[Nacogdoches, Texas|Nacogdoches, TX]]
|[[Nacogdoches, Texas|Nacogdoches, TX]]
|Lumberjacks
|Lumberjacks
|[[Homer Bryce Stadium]]
|14,575
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
|2021
|2021
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|[[Stephenville, Texas|Stephenville, TX]]
|[[Stephenville, Texas|Stephenville, TX]]
|Texans
|Texans
|[[Memorial Stadium (Tarleton State)|Memorial Stadium]]
|10,000
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
| [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
|2021
|2021
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|[[Cedar City, Utah|Cedar City, UT]]
|[[Cedar City, Utah|Cedar City, UT]]
|Thunderbirds
|Thunderbirds
|[[Eccles Coliseum]]
|8,500
|[[Big Sky Conference|Big Sky]]
|[[Big Sky Conference|Big Sky]]
|2022
|2022
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|[[Edinburg, Texas|Edinburg, TX]]
|[[Edinburg, Texas|Edinburg, TX]]
|Vaqueros
|Vaqueros
|TBD
|TBD
|[[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]<br>(forming a new program)
|[[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]<br>(forming a new program)
|2024 (or sooner)
|2024 (or sooner)

Revision as of 21:33, 19 October 2021

WAC football champions
Conference Football Champions
Western Athletic Conference Logo
SportFootball
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Number of teams9
Played1962–2012, 2021–present
Current championUtah State Aggies (Final Champion)
Most championshipsBYU Cougars (19)
Official websiteWACSports.com 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]

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.

Team First Year Last Year WAC Titles Current Primary Conference
Air Force Falcons 1980 1998 3 Mountain West
Arizona Wildcats 1962 1977 2 Pac-12
Arizona State Sun Devils 1962 1977 7 Pac-12
Boise State Broncos 2001 2010 8 Mountain West
BYU Cougars 1962 1998 19 Independent
Fresno State Bulldogs 1992 2011 3 Mountain West
Colorado State Rams 1967 1998 3 Mountain West
Hawaii Warriors 1979 2011 4 Mountain West
Idaho Vandals 2005 2012 0 Big Sky
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 2001 2012 2 C-USA
UNLV Rebels 1996 1998 0 Mountain West
Nevada Wolf Pack 2000 2011 2 Mountain West
New Mexico Lobos 1962 1998 2 Mountain West
New Mexico State Aggies 2005 2012 0 Independent
Rice Owls 1996 2004 0 C-USA
San Diego State Aztecs 1978 1998 1 Mountain West
San Jose State Spartans 1996 2012 0 Mountain West
SMU Mustangs 1996 2004 0 The American
TCU Horned Frogs 1996 2000 2 Big 12
UTEP Miners 1967 2004 1 C-USA
UTSA Roadrunners 2012 2012 0 C-USA
Texas State Bobcats 2012 2012 0 Sun Belt
Tulsa Golden Hurricane 1996 2004 0 The American
Utah Utes 1962 1998 2 Pac-12
Utah State Aggies 2005 2012 1 Mountain West
Wyoming Cowboys 1962 1998 7 Mountain West

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

A 2007 WAC game, Boise State at Hawaii
Season Champion Conference record
1962 New Mexico 2–1–1
1963 Arizona State 3–0
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
Hawaii 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 Hawaii 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 Hawaii 8–0
2008 Boise State 8–0
2009 Boise State 8–0
2010 Boise State 7–1
Nevada 7–1
Hawaii 7–1
2011 Louisiana Tech 6–1
2012 Utah State 6–0

By team

Members of the 2008 WAC champion Boise State team, before a game against Nevada
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
San Diego State 1 1 0
UTEP 1 0 1
Utah State 1 1 0

Championship game

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 the Las Vegas Valley. When conference membership was cut in half in 1999 with the formation of the Mountain West Conference, both the championship game and two-division format were discontinued. All participants in the three title games were among the defections to Mountain West.

Below are the results from all WAC Championship Games played. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of their primary team color. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game. ABC Sports televised all three games.

Date Mountain Division Pacific Division Stadium Location Attendance Ref.
December 7, 1996 #6 BYU 28 (OT) #20 Wyoming 25 Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, Nevada 41,238 [11]
December 6, 1997 #25 New Mexico 13 #20 Colorado State 41 12,706 [12]
December 5, 1998 #17 Air Force 20 BYU 13 32,745 [13]

Results by team

Rank Team Appearances Record PCT. PF PA
1 BYU 2 1–1 .500 41 45
2 Air Force 1 1–0 1.000 20 13
2 Colorado State 1 1–0 1.000 41 13
4 New Mexico 1 0–1 .000 13 41
4 Wyoming 1 0–1 .000 25 28

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.[14]

The WAC had conference tie-ins with various bowl games during its history, including:

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) [15]
New Mexico State New Mexico Rio Grande Rivalry 1894–2018 109 New Mexico (71–33–5) New Mexico (1) [16]
New Mexico State UTEP The Battle of I-10 1914–2018 96 UTEP (57–37–2) New Mexico State (2) [17]
San Jose State Fresno State Valley Rivalry 1921–2018 82 Fresno State (42–37–3) Fresno State (2) [18]
Utah State BYU Old Wagon Wheel 1922–2018 88 BYU (48–37–3) Utah State (2) [19]
Utah State Utah Battle of the Brothers 1892–2015 113 Utah (79–30–4) Utah (2) [20]

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.

Western Athletic Conference football is located in the United States
⇙ Hawaii
⇙ Hawaii
Fresno State
Fresno State
San Diego State
San Diego State
San Jose State
San Jose State
UNLV
UNLV
Air Force
Air Force
Colorado State
Colorado State
Wyoming
Wyoming
BYU
BYU
New Mexico
New Mexico
Utah
Utah
UTEP
UTEP
Tulsa
Tulsa
TCU
TCU
SMU
SMU
Rice
Rice
class=notpageimage|
WAC member locations during the four-pod system (1996–1998)
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

  1. ^ "Western Athletic Conference considers becoming a non-football league". July 3, 2012.
  2. ^ "WAC Announces Expansion, Plans to Reinstate Football" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "WAC Announces Expedited Entrance for Four Texas Institutions" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  5. ^ Deaver, Colin. "Reports: WAC football to return in 2022, rise to FBS later in decade". KTSM.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  6. ^ Jeyarajah, Shehan. "UTRGV commits to add FCS football by 2024". Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  7. ^ a b "ASUN, WAC Conferences Announce Football Partnership for 2021" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "From the Commissioner's Desk: @ASUN_Football Update" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  9. ^ Vejar, Alex (January 6, 2021). "Report: Two Utah schools in plans for return of WAC football in 2022". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "CougarStats: BYU Football: BYU vs. Wyoming 1996 WAC Championship Game". cougarstats.com.
  12. ^ "Western Athletic Conf. Championship". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. December 7, 1997. p. C9. Retrieved March 8, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "CougarStats: BYU Football: BYU vs. Air Force 1998 WAC Championship Game". cougarstats.com.
  14. ^ "1964 Western Athletic Conference Year Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  15. ^ "Winsipedia - Idaho Vandals vs. Boise State Broncos football series history". Winsipedia.
  16. ^ "Winsipedia - New Mexico State Aggies vs. New Mexico Lobos football series history". Winsipedia.
  17. ^ "Winsipedia - New Mexico State Aggies vs. UTEP Miners football series history". Winsipedia.
  18. ^ "Winsipedia - San Jose State Spartans vs. Fresno State Bulldogs football series history". Winsipedia.
  19. ^ "Winsipedia - Utah State Aggies vs. BYU Cougars football series history". Winsipedia.
  20. ^ "Winsipedia - Utah State Aggies vs. Utah Utes football series history". Winsipedia.
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