Western Athletic Conference

The Western Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah and Washington along with the Midwest state of Illinois and the Southwest 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. 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.

Members

Current members

The following institutions are the full members of the Western Athletic Conference.

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined	WAC Titles
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	1950	Private	11,045	Lancers		2018	1
Chicago State University	Chicago, Illinois	1867	Public	2,964	Cougars		2013	0
Dixie State University		1911	Public	11,193	Trailblazers		2020	0
Grand Canyon University	Phoenix, Arizona	1949	Private	20,000	Antelopes		2013	30
New Mexico State University	Las Cruces, New Mexico	1888	Public	21,874	Aggies		2005	68
Seattle University	Seattle, Washington	1891	Private	7,755	Redhawks		2012	20
Tarleton State University	Stephenville, Texas	1899	Public	13,115	Texans		2020	0
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	Edinburg, Texas	1927	Public	27,809	Vaqueros		2013	5
Utah Valley University	Orem, Utah	1941	Public	41,728	Wolverines		2013	15

;Notes

With the elimination of football as a WAC-sponsored sport, New Mexico State's football program is currently an FBS Independent member.
The founding date for UTRGV listed in this table reflects that of Edinburg College, the predecessor to the former University of Texas–Pan American. While UTRGV was created by the merger of UTPA with UT Brownsville, the UTRGV athletic program traces its history solely through UTPA.
Chicago State's continued membership is problematic. Considering the school's current strained financial situation and the needs of the athletic program, in April 2016, the University Budget Committee recommended that the Athletic Department "... study the benefits of being Division I or another division."
Championships title totals are through Spring 2016.
California State University, Bakersfield will be leaving for the Big West Conference in 2020.
The University of Missouri–Kansas City will be leaving to return to the Summit League in 2020.
Affiliate members

The following 10 schools field programs in the WAC for sports not sponsored by their primary conferences.

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Primary Conference	WAC Sport	Joined	WAC Titles	Former Full Member
United States Air Force Academy	Colorado Springs, Colorado	1955	Federal	4,413	Falcons	Mountain West	men's soccer, men's swimming	2013–14^m.soc 2013–14^m.sw	11
California State University, Sacramento	Sacramento, California	1947	Public	27,972	Hornets	Big Sky	baseball	2005–06	7
Houston Baptist University	Houston, Texas	1960	Private	2,567	Huskies	Southland	men's soccer	2013–14	0
University of Idaho	Moscow, Idaho	1889	Public	12,312	Vandals	Big Sky	women's swimming	2014–15	17
University of the Incarnate Word	San Antonio, Texas	1881	Private	8,455	Cardinals	Southland	men's soccer	2014–15	0
University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Paradise, Nevada	1957	Public	29,069	Rebels	Mountain West	men's soccer, men's swimming	2013–14^m.soc 2013–14^m.sw	7
Northern Arizona University	Flagstaff, Arizona	1899	Public	18,824	Lumberjacks	Big Sky	women's swimming	2004–05	6
University of Northern Colorado	Greeley, Colorado	1889	Public	10,097	Bears	Big Sky	baseball, women's swimming	2013–14^bs. 2012–13^w.sw	1
San Jose State University	San Jose, California	1857	Public	30,448	Spartans	Mountain West	men's soccer	2013–14	18
University of Wyoming	Laramie, Wyoming	1886	Public	12,496	Cowboys	Mountain West	men's swimming	2013–14	25

;Notes

Four schools became affiliate members in men's soccer in July 2013; the WAC announced on January 9, 2013 that it would reinstate the sport, which it had sponsored from 1996 to 1999. Because the conference dropped football, it was necessary to add a new men's team sport to maintain its Division I status. It chose men's soccer because three of the confirmed members for 2013–14 already sponsored the sport, and filled out its soccer ranks by attracting four schools from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Three of these schools have past WAC connections—former full members Air Force, UNLV and San Jose State. After the WAC announced it would add men's soccer, the conference gained an eighth soccer school for the 2013 season when UMKC, which already sponsored the sport, joined. In addition, Utah Valley added the sport for 2014, UT-Pan American added it for 2015, and Chicago State was slated to add it for 2016 but did not do so until 2020.
Four schools became affiliate members in men's swimming and diving in July 2013; the WAC announced on May 16, 2013 that it would reinstate the sport, which it had sponsored from 1962 to 2000.
Northern Colorado joined the WAC for baseball for the 2014 season. Baseball will leave for the Summit League after the 2021 season; the school will remain a WAC affiliate in women's swimming & diving.
Sacramento State was formerly an associate member of the WAC in baseball from 1992–93 to 1995–96.
Championships title totals are through Fall 2014.
Former full members

The WAC has 27 former full members.

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	WAC Titles	Current Primary Conference
United States Air Force Academy	Falcons	Colorado Springs, Colorado	1954	Federal	4,413	1980	1999	11	Mountain West
University of Arizona	Wildcats	Tucson, Arizona	1885	Public	39,236	1962	1978	18	Pac-12
Arizona State University	Sun Devils	Tempe, Arizona	1885	Public	59,794	1962	1978	29	Pac-12
Boise State University	Broncos	Boise, Idaho	1932	Public	22,678	2001	2011	33	Mountain West
Brigham Young University	Cougars	Provo, Utah	1875	Private	34,130	1962	1999	193	WCC Division I FBS Independent
California State University, Bakersfield	Roadrunners	Bakersfield, California	1965	Public	10,500	2013	2020	7	Big West
California State University, Fresno	Bulldogs	Fresno, California	1911	Public	22,565	1992	2012	78	Mountain West
Colorado State University	Rams	Fort Collins, Colorado	1870	Public	28,417	1968	1999	15	Mountain West
	Pioneers	Denver, Colorado	1864	Private	11,476	2012	2013	7	Summit
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa	Rainbow Warriors & Rainbow Wahine	Honolulu, Hawaii	1907	Public	20,435	1979	2012	62	Big West Mountain West
University of Idaho	Vandals	Moscow, Idaho	1889	Public	12,312	2005	2014	17	Big Sky
University of Missouri–Kansas City	Roos	Kansas City, Missouri	1933	Public	16,944	2013	2020	17	Summit League
Louisiana Tech University	Bulldogs Lady Techsters	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	Public	11,581	2001	2013	30	C-USA
University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Rebels	Paradise, Nevada	1957	Public	28,203	1996	1999	7	Mountain West
University of Nevada, Reno	Wolf Pack	Reno, Nevada	1874	Public	18,227	2000	2012	22	Mountain West
University of New Mexico	Lobos	Albuquerque, New Mexico	1889	Public	35,211	1962	1999	46	Mountain West
Rice University	Owls	Houston, Texas	1912	Private	6,082	1996	2005	29	C-USA
San Diego State University	Aztecs	San Diego, California	1897	Public	28,789	1978	1999	20	Mountain West
San Jose State University	Spartans	San Jose, California	1857	Public	30,448	1996	2013	18	Mountain West
Southern Methodist University	Mustangs	University Park, Texas	1911	Private	12,000	1996	2005	44	The American
Texas Christian University	Horned Frogs	Fort Worth, Texas	1873	Private	9,725	1996	2001	18	Big 12
University of Texas at Arlington	Mavericks	Arlington, Texas	1895	Public	33,439	2012	2013	2	Sun Belt
University of Texas at El Paso	Miners	El Paso, Texas	1914	Public	21,011	1968	2005	58	C-USA
University of Texas at San Antonio	Roadrunners	San Antonio, Texas	1969	Public	30,474	2012	2013	2	C-USA
Texas State University	Bobcats	San Marcos, Texas	1899	Public	34,229	2012	2013	3	Sun Belt
University of Tulsa	Golden Hurricane	Tulsa, Oklahoma	1894	Private	4,352	1996	2005	14	The American
University of Utah	Utes	Salt Lake City, Utah	1850	Public	32,388	1962	1999	68	Pac-12
Utah State University	Aggies	Logan, Utah	1888	Public	28,796	2005	2013	32	Mountain West
University of Wyoming	Cowboys & Cowgirls	Laramie, Wyoming	1866	Public	12,496	1962	1999	25	Mountain West

Former affiliate members

Membership timeline

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id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
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bar:1 color:Full from:1962 till:1978 text:Arizona
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2011 text:Pac-10
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:end text:Pac-12
bar:2 color:Full from:1962 till:1978 text:Arizona State
bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2011 text:Pac-10
bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:end text:Pac-12
bar:3 color:Full from:1962 till:1999 text:BYU
bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2011 text:Mountain West
bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2011 till:end text:WCC
bar:4 color:Full from:1962 till:1999 text:New Mexico
bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:5 color:Full from:1962 till:1999 text:Utah
bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2011 text:Mountain West
bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2011 till:end text:Pac-12
bar:6 color:Full from:1962 till:1999 text:Wyoming
bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2013 text:Mountain West
bar:6 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:end
bar:7 color:Full from:1968 till:1999 text:Colorado State
bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:8 color:Full from:1968 till:2005 text:UTEP
bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text:C-USA
bar:9 color:Full from:1978 till:1999 text:San Diego State
bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:10 color:Full from:1979 till:2012 text:Hawaiʻi
bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:Big West
bar:11 color:Full from:1980 till:1999 text:Air Force
bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2013 text:Mountain West
bar:11 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:end
bar:12 color:AssocOS from:1990 till:1993 shift: text:Boise State
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:2001 text:Big West
bar:12 color:Full from:2001 till:2011 text:Boise State
Bar:12 color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2013
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:13 color:AssocOS from:1990 till:1993 shift: text:Southern Utah
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:2005 text:Ind / Great West
bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:2013 text:
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Big Sky
bar:14 color:Full from:1992 till:2012 text:Fresno State
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:15 color:AssocOS from:1992 till:1996 shift: text:Sacramento State
bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2005 text:Big Sky
bar:15 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:end
bar:16 color:AssocOS from:1992 till:1996 text:Cal State–Northridge
bar:17 color:AssocOS from:1994 till:1996 text:Cal Poly
bar:18 color:AssocOS from:1995 till:1998 text:Grand Canyon
bar:18 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:
bar:19 color:Full from:1996 till:1999 text:UNLV
bar:19 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2013 text:Mountain West
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:end
bar:20 color:Full from:1996 till:2001 text:TCU
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:2005 text:C-USA
bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:2005 till:2012 text:Mountain West
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:Big 12
bar:21 color:Full from:1996 till:2005 text:Rice
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text:C-USA
bar:22 color:Full from:1996 till:2005 text:SMU
bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:C-USA
bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:AAC
bar:23 color:Full from:1996 till:2005 text:Tulsa
bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2014 text:C-USA
bar:23 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:AAC
bar:24 color:Full from:1996 till:end text:San Jose State
bar:24 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:25 color:AssocOS from:1999 till:2000 text:Drury
bar:26 color:AssocOS from:1999 till:2001 text:Hawaii–Hilo
bar:27 color:Full from:2000 till:2012 text:Nevada
bar:27 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:28 color:Full from:2001 till:end text:Louisiana Tech
bar:28 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:C-USA
bar:29 color:AssocOS from:2004 till:end text:Northern Arizona
bar:30 color:AssocOS from:2004 till:2010 text:San Diego
bar:31 color:Full from:2005 till:end text:Utah State
bar:31 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Mountain West
bar:32 color:Full from:2005 till:2013 text:Idaho
bar:32 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2014 text:
bar:32 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:Big Sky
bar:33 color:Full from:2005 till:2013 text:NMSU
bar:33 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:
bar:34 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:2011 text:Cal State Fullerton
bar:35 shift: color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2017 text:North Dakota
bar:36 color:AssocOS from:2011 till:2012
bar:36 shift: color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013 text:Denver
bar:36 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Summit
bar:37 shift: color:Full from:2012 till:end text:UTSA
bar:37 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:C-USA
bar:38 shift: color:Full from:2012 till:end text:Texas State
bar:38 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Sun Belt
bar:39 shift: color:FullxF from:2012 till:2013 text:UT Arlington
bar:39 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Sun Belt
bar:40 shift: color:FullxF from:2012 till:end text:Seattle
bar:41 shift: color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2013 text:Dallas Baptist
bar:41 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end
bar:42 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2013
bar:42 shift: color:FullxF from:2013 till:2020 text:Cal State Bakersfield
bar:42 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:Big West
bar:43 shift: color:AssocOS from:2012 till:end text:Northern Colorado
bar:44 shift: color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:Chicago State
bar:45 shift: color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:UTRGV
bar:46 shift: color:FullxF from:2013 till:2020 text:UMKC
bar:46 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:Summit
bar:47 shift: color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:Utah Valley
bar:48 shift: color:AssocOS from:2013 till:end text:Houston Baptist
bar:49 shift: color:FullXF from:2018 till:end text:California Baptist
bar:50 shift: color:FullXF from:2020 till:end text:Dixie State
bar:51 shift: color:FullXF from:2020 till:end text:Tarleton State
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Prior to the 1996–97 season, both Air Force and Hawaii had most to all of their women's sports competing in other conferences before joining the WAC full-time with their men's sports counterparts. At that time, Air Force was in the Colorado Athletic Conference, and Hawaii was in the Big West Conference.
History

Formation

The WAC formed out of a series of talks between Brigham Young University athletic director Eddie Kimball and other university administrators from 1958 to 1961 to form a new athletic conference that would better fit the needs and situations of certain universities which were at the time members of the Border, Skyline, and Pacific Coast Conferences. Potential member universities who were represented at the meetings included BYU, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Arizona State, and Wyoming. While the three Washington and Oregon schools elected to stay in a revamped Pac-8 Conference that replaced the scandal-plagued PCC, the remaining six schools formed the WAC. The Border and Skyline conferences, having each lost three of their stronger members, dissolved at the end of the 1961–62 season. The charter members of the WAC were Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. New Mexico State and Utah State applied for charter membership and were turned down; they would eventually become WAC members 43 years later.

Success and first expansion

The conference proved to be an almost perfect fit for the six schools from both a competitive and financial standpoint. Arizona and Arizona State, in particular, experienced success in baseball with Arizona garnering the 1963 College World Series runner-up trophy and ASU winning the CWS in 1965, 1967, and 1969. Colorado State and Texas-El Paso, at that time just renamed from Texas Western College, were accepted in September 1967 to bring membership up
With massive growth in the state of Arizona, the balance of WAC play in the 1970s became increasingly skewed in favor of the Arizona schools, who won or tied for all but two WAC football titles from 1969 onward. In the summer of 1978, the two schools left the WAC for the Pac-8, which became the Pac-10, and were replaced in the WAC by San Diego State and, one year later, Hawaii. The WAC further expanded by adding Air Force in the summer of 1980. A college football national championship won by Brigham Young in 1984 added to the WAC's reputation as one of the best NCAA Division I conferences. This nine-team line-up of the WAC defined the conference for nearly 15 years.

Second wave of expansion

expanded its athletic program in the early 1990s and was granted membership in 1992 as the nationwide trend against major college programs independent of conferences accelerated. The WAC merged with the High Country Athletic Conference, a parallel organization to the WAC for women's athletics, in 1990 to unify both men's and women's athletics under one administrative structure.
In 1996, the WAC expanded again, adding six schools to its ranks for a total of sixteen. Rice, TCU, and SMU joined the league from the Southwest Conference, which had disbanded. Big West Conference members San Jose State and UNLV were also admitted, as well as Tulsa from the Missouri Valley Conference. Also, two WAC members for men's sports at the time, Air Force and Hawaii, brought their women's sports into the WAC. With the expansion, the WAC was divided into two divisions, the Mountain and the Pacific.
To help in organizing schedules and travel for the far-flung league, the members were divided into four quadrants of four teams each, as follows:

Quadrant 1	Quadrant 2	Quadrant 3	Quadrant 4
Hawaii	UNLV	BYU	Tulsa
Fresno State	Air Force	Utah	TCU
San Diego State	Colorado State	New Mexico	SMU
San Jose State	Wyoming	UTEP	Rice

Quadrant one was always part of the Pacific Division, and quadrant four was always part of the Mountain Division. Quadrant two was part of the Pacific Division for 1996 and 1997 before switching to the Mountain Division in 1998, while the reverse was true for quadrant three. The scheduled fourth year of the alignment was abandoned after eight schools left to form the Mountain West Conference.
The division champions in football met from 1996 to 1998 in the WAC Championship Game, held at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas Valley.

Turbulence at the turn of the millennium

Increasingly, most of the older, pre-1996 members —particularly Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Utah, and Wyoming— felt chagrin at this new arrangement. Additional concerns centered around finances, as the expanded league stretched approximately from Hawaii to Oklahoma and covered nine states and four time zones. With such a far-flung league, travel costs became a concern. The presidents of Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Utah, and Wyoming met in 1998 at Denver International Airport and agreed to split off to form a new league. The breakaway group invited old-line WAC schools New Mexico and San Diego State and newcomer UNLV to join them in the new Mountain West Conference, which began competition in 1999.
A USA Today article summed up the reasons behind the split. "With Hawaii and the Texas schools separated by about 3,900 miles and four time zones, travel costs were a tremendous burden for WAC teams. The costs, coupled with lagging revenue and a proposed realignment that would have separated rivals such as Colorado State and Air Force, created unrest among the eight defecting schools."
BYU and Utah would later leave the MWC for the West Coast Conference and Pac-12 Conference, respectively; BYU football is an FBS independent.

WAC in the 2000s

In 2000, the University of Nevada, Reno of the Big West joined as part of its plan to upgrade its athletic program.
TCU left for Conference USA in 2001.
The Big West announced that it would drop football after the 2000 season, but four of its football-playing members were unwilling to drop football. Boise State was invited to join the WAC and promptly departed the Big West, while New Mexico State and Idaho joined the Sun Belt Conference and Utah State operated as an independent D-IA program. At the same time, Louisiana Tech ended its independent D-IA status and also accepted an invitation to join the WAC with Boise State.
In 2005, Conference USA sought new members to replenish its ranks after losing members to the Big East, which had lost members to the ACC. Four WAC schools, former SWC schools Rice and SMU, as well as Tulsa and UTEP, joined Conference USA. In response, the WAC added Idaho, New Mexico State, and Utah State – all former Big West schools which left the conference in 2000 along with Boise State when that conference dropped football. The three new schools were all land grant universities, bringing the conference total to five.

Membership changes and the elimination of football

The decade of the 2010s began with a series of conference realignment moves that would have trickle-down effects throughout Division I football, and profoundly change the membership of the WAC. Boise State decided to move to the Mountain West Conference for the 2011–12 season, and to replace departing BYU, the MWC also recruited WAC members Fresno State and Nevada for 2012–13. WAC commissioner Karl Benson courted several schools to replace those leaving, including the University of Montana, which declined, as well as the University of Denver, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Texas State University-San Marcos, which all accepted effective 2012–13.
But the resulting eastward shift of the conference's geographic center led Hawaii to reduce travel expenses by becoming a football-only member of the MWC and joining the California-based Big West Conference for all other sports. Further invitations were then issued by the WAC to Seattle University and the University of Texas at Arlington. These changes meant that the conference would have 10 members for 2012–13, seven of which sponsored football, and Benson announced that the WAC planned to add two additional football-playing members to begin competition in 2013. A further boost came when Boise State decided to join the Big East in football, and return to the WAC in most other sports, as of the 2013–14 academic year. So by the end of 2011, the WAC seemed to have weathered the latest round of conference changes, and once again reinvented itself for the future.
But from this seemingly strong position, early 2012 brought forth a series of moves that shook the conference to its very core, beginning with Utah State and San Jose State accepting offers to join the MWC. Four similar announcements followed with UTSA and Louisiana Tech jumping to Conference USA, plus Texas State and UT Arlington heading to the Sun Belt Conference, all as of 2013–14. Boise State also canceled plans to rejoin the WAC, instead opting to place its non-football sports in the Big West Conference, before eventually deciding to simply remain in the MWC. These changes left the WAC's viability as a Division I football conference in grave doubt. The two remaining football-playing members, New Mexico State and Idaho, began making plans to compete in future seasons as FBS Independents; they ultimately spent only the 2013 season as independents, rejoining their one-time football home of the Sun Belt as football-only members in 2014.
In order to rebuild, as well as forestall further defections, the conference was forced to add two schools—Utah Valley University and CSU Bakersfield—which were invited in October 2012 to join the WAC in 2013–14, but this did not prevent two more members from leaving. Denver decided to take most of its athletic teams to The Summit League as of the 2013–14 season, shortly after Idaho opted to return all of its non-football sports to the Big Sky Conference in 2014–15. The conference responded over the next two months by adding Grand Canyon University, Chicago State University, and the University of Texas-Pan American. Then, in February 2013, the WAC announced the University of Missouri–Kansas City would join in the summer of 2013 as well. These changes would put the conference's membership at eight members by 2014 with only one, New Mexico State, having been in the WAC just three years earlier. Due to losing the majority of its football-playing members, the WAC would stop sponsoring the sport after the 2012–13 season, thereby becoming a non-football conference.
In 2013, the University of Texas System announced that Texas–Pan American would merge with the University of Texas at Brownsville; the new institution, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, began operation for the 2015–16 school year. UTRGV inherited UTPA's athletic program and WAC membership.
In January 2017, California Baptist University announced it would transition from NCAA Division II and join the WAC in 2018.
In November 2017, Cal State Bakersfield announced it would accept an invitation to the Big West and join its new conference in 2020.
In January 2019, Dixie State University announced it would move its athletics to Division I and join the WAC in 2020.
In June 2019, the University of Missouri–Kansas City announced it would leave the WAC to join the Summit League in 2020; this announcement came shortly before the rebranding of its athletic program as the Kansas City Roos.
In September 2019, Tarleton State University of Division II announced that it would move to Division I and join the WAC in 2020.

Commissioners

Sports

The Western Athletic Conference currently sponsors championship competition in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Nine schools are currently Associate members in four sports.

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	10	-
Basketball	9	9
Cross country	8	9
Golf	8	9
Soccer	12	9
Softball	-	7
Swimming & Diving	7	7
Tennis	6	6
Track and field	7	8
Track and field	8	9
Volleyball	-	9

Men's soccer was a newly sponsored sport for 2013–14; UTRGV added it for 2015, and Chicago State did so in 2020.
Men's sponsored sports by school

Departing members in red.

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field	Track & Field	Total WAC Sports
California Baptist										7
Chicago State										7
Dixie State										5
Grand Canyon										9
New Mexico State										5
Seattle										9
Tarleton State										5
UTRGV										8
Utah Valley										7
Totals	8+2	9	9	8	7+5	3+3	5	6	7	62+10

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Western Athletic Conference which are played by WAC schools

School	Football	Volleyball	Water Polo	Wrestling
California Baptist	No	No	WWPA	No
Dixie State	FCS independent	No	No	No
Grand Canyon	No	MPSF	No	No
New Mexico State	FBS independent	No	No	No
Tarleton State	FCS independent	No	No	No
Utah Valley	No	No	No	Big 12

Women's sponsored sports by school

Departing members in red.

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field	Track & Field	Volleyball	Total WAC Sports
California Baptist											8
Chicago State											8
Dixie State											9
Grand Canyon											10
New Mexico State											10
Seattle											10
Tarleton State											8
UTRGV											8
Utah Valley											8
Totals	9	9	9	8	7	5+2	7	7	9	9	79+2

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Western Athletic Conference which are played by WAC schools
Departing member in red.

School	Beach Volleyball	Equestrian	Rowing	Water Polo
California Baptist	No	No	No	GCC
Grand Canyon	Independent	No	No	No
New Mexico State	No	Independent	No	No
Seattle	No	No	WIRA	No

Football

The WAC sponsored football from its founding in 1962 through the 2012 season. However, the defection of all but two football-playing schools to other conferences caused the conference to drop sponsorship after fifty-one years.

Men's basketball

WAC tournament
Rivalries
Men's basketball rivalries involving WAC teams include:
Awards

Women's basketball

WAC tournament
Rivalries
Women's basketball rivalries involving WAC teams include:

Baseball

The WAC has claimed seven NCAA baseball national championships. The most recent WAC national champion is the 2008 Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team.
WAC tournament

Championships

Current champions

Source:

For the sports in which the WAC recognizes both regular-season and tournament champions:
* indicates regular-season champion.
* indicates tournament champion.
For other sports, only a tournament champion is recognized.
Champions from a previous school year are indicated with the calendar year of their title.

Season	Sport	Men's champion	Women's champion
Fall 2019	Cross country	Utah Valley	California Baptist
Fall 2019	Soccer	Seattle	Seattle
Fall 2019	Volleyball	—	New Mexico State
Winter 2019–20	Indoor Track & Field	Grand Canyon	New Mexico State
Winter 2019–20	Swimming & Diving	Air Force	Northern Arizona
Winter 2019–20	Basketball	New Mexico State	Kansas City New Mexico State
Spring 2020	Golf	Kansas City	New Mexico State
Spring 2020	Tennis	Grand Canyon	Grand Canyon New Mexico State
Spring 2020	Softball	—	Seattle
Spring 2020	Outdoor Track & Field	Utah Valley	Grand Canyon
Spring 2020	Baseball	California Baptist, New Mexico State, UTRGV Sacramento State	—

National championships

The following teams have won NCAA national championships while being a member of the WAC:

Arizona – baseball
Arizona State – baseball
BYU – men's track & field
BYU – men's golf
BYU – women's cross country
Fresno State – softball
Fresno State – baseball
Rice – baseball
UTEP – NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country
UTEP – NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field
UTEP – NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field
UNLV – men's golf

The WAC has also produced one AP national champion in football:

The following teams won AIAW women's national championships while their universities were members of the WAC:

Arizona State – swimming, badminton, softball, golf
Utah – cross country, gymnastics, skiing
UTEP – indoor track and field
Facilities

Departing affiliate member Northern Colorado highlighted in red.

School	Soccer stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity	Softball park	Capacity	Baseball park	Capacity
California Baptist	CBU Soccer Field		CBU Events Center	5050	John C. Funk Stadium	500	James W. Totman Stadium	800
Chicago State	Kroc Stadium	500	Jones Convocation Center	7000	Non-softball school		Cougar Stadium Non-baseball school as of June 23, 2020	1000
Dixie State	Greater Zion Stadium	10,000	Burns Arena	4779	Karl Brooks Field		Bruce Hurst Field	2500
Grand Canyon	GCU Stadium	2,800 seats 6,000 cap.	GCU Arena	7000	GCU Softball Stadium	300	Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark	1500
New Mexico State	Aggie Soccer Field	1253	Pan American Center	12482	NMSU Softball Complex	1050	Presley Askew Field	1000
Seattle	Championship Field	650	Redhawk Center	999	Logan Field at Seattle University Park	250	Bannerwood Park	700
Tarleton State	To be announced; adding women's soccer soon		Wisdom Gym	2400	Tarleton Softball Complex	500	Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex	750
UTRGV	UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex	1555	UTRGV Fieldhouse	2500	Non-softball school		UTRGV Baseball Stadium	4000
Utah Valley	Clyde Field	1000	UCCU Center	8500	Wolverine Field	500	UCCU Ballpark	5000

Awards

Commissioner's Cup
The WAC awards its Commissioner's Cup to the school that performs the best in each of the conference's 19 men's and women's championships.
Joe Kearney Award
Named in honor of former WAC commissioner Dr. Joseph Kearney, the awards are given annually to the top male and female WAC athlete. The various WAC member institutions Athletics Directors select the male award winner, while the WAC member institutions Senior Women's Administrators choose the female honoree.
Stan Bates Award
The award is named in honor of former WAC Commissioner Stan Bates and honors the WAC's top male and female scholar-athletes, recognizing the recipients’ athletic and academic accomplishments. In addition, the awards carry a $3,000 postgraduate scholarship.

Media

WAC Digital Network

In 2014–15, the WAC initiated a new digital network to give fans high quality streaming internet access to many of its regular season games and postseason championships including volleyball, soccer, swimming and diving, basketball, softball and baseball.

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