The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) 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, Washington, and Texas.
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Southland sponsors 18 sports, 10 for women and eight for men, and is governed by a presidential Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of athletic and academic administrators. Chris Grant became the Southland's seventh commissioner on April 5, 2022. From 1996 to 2002, for football only, the Southland Conference was known as the Southland Football League.
The WAC women's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The WAC has held a postseason tournament to crown a women's basketball champion every year since 1991. At first the regular season champion hosted it but at its height, the tournament was held at larger urban venues. With the departure of the Mountain West Conference teams, the tournament had returned to campus, with each game in the tournament being held in one campus venue, each year. Since 2011, the tournament has been held at the Orleans Arena, part of the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
The Sam Houston Bearkats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston's colors are orange and white. Sam Houston sports teams participate in NCAA Division I in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), having joined that conference on July 1, 2021 after spending the previous 34 years in the Southland Conference. SHSU's primary rival is Stephen F. Austin (SFA) and tensions between the two schools can run high before major sporting events that pit one against the other.
The UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros is a collegiate athletic program that represents the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). The Vaqueros inherited the NCAA Division I status of the Texas–Pan American Broncs and compete in the Western Athletic Conference.
The 2015 WAC men's soccer tournament was the 7th edition of the tournament. It determined the Western Athletic Conference's automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
The 2016 Western Athletic Conference women's soccer tournament is the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Western Athletic Conference to be held from November 3 to November 6, 2016. The five match tournament will be held at Durwood Soccer Stadium in Kansas City. The six team single-elimination tournament will consist of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions are the Utah Valley Wolverines, who defeated the Seattle Redhawks 2–0 in the 2015 tournament.
The 2017 Western Athletic Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Western Athletic Conference held from November 1–5, 2017. The five match tournament took place at GCU Stadium in Phoenix on the campus of Grand Canyon University. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Seattle Redhawks, but they failed to defend their title after losing the penalty shoot-out tiebreaking procedure following a tie with the Utah Valley Wolverines in the final. This was the second WAC women's soccer tournament championship for the Utah Valley women's soccer program and the first for first-year head coach Chris Lemay.
The 2018 Western Athletic Conference men's soccer season is the 23rd consecutive competition of men's college soccer in the Western Athletic Conference under the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The season will feature twelve teams, where five are affiliate members of the conference. Air Force, San Jose State, and UNLV will compete from the Mountain West Conference, while Houston Baptist and Incarnate Word come from the Southland Conference. Colleges in the WAC will begin competition on August 24, 2018, and conclude on November 9, 2018 after the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. Prior to the NCAA Division I Tournament Championship, there will be a postseason conference tournament held in Seattle, Washington at the Championship Field, where the winner is guaranteed to represent the WAC in the NCAA Division I Tournament. The California Baptist Lancers are ineligible for postseason as they are in transition to the NCAA Division I level. Chicago State and New Mexico State have defunct programs in this season.
The 2018 WAC men's soccer tournament was the 11th edition of the tournament. It determined the Western Athletic Conference's automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
The 2018 Western Athletic Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Western Athletic Conference held from October 31 to November 4, 2018. The five match tournament took place at Clyde Field in Orem, Utah on the campus of Utah Valley University. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Utah Valley Wolverines, but they failed to defend their title after losing 3–0 to the UMKC Kangaroos in the semifinals. The tournament champions were the Seattle Redhawks, who defeated UMKC 1–0 in the final. This was the fourth WAC women's soccer tournament championship for the Seattle women's soccer program, all of which have come under head coach Julie Woodward.
The 2019 Western Athletic Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Western Athletic Conference held from November 6 to November 10, 2019. The five match tournament took place at Championship Field in Seattle, Washington on the campus of Seattle University. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Seattle Redhawks, who successfully defended their title, defeating Utah Valley 2–1 in the final. This was the fifth WAC women's soccer tournament championship for the Seattle women's soccer program, all of which have come under head coach Julie Woodward.
The 2019 WAC men's soccer tournament was the 12th edition of the tournament. It determined the Western Athletic Conference's automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament. The tournament began on November 13 and concluded on November 17.
The 2021–22 WAC men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021 followed by the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2021. The conference began play in December 2021. This is the WAC's 60th season of basketball. On July 1st, 2021, The WAC officially welcomed four new members: Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin to grow and revitalize the conference. All four were previously in the Southland Conference. The WAC now has 6 full members in Texas, making it the largest DI conference in the state. Each WAC member will play an 18-game conference schedule.
The 2021–22 Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball team represented Utah Valley University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Dan Nielson entered the season as head coach for his 3rd season. The Wolverines played their home games at the UCCU Center and Lockhart Arena in Orem, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The 2020 Western Athletic Conference women's soccer tournament, delayed due to COVID-19 until Spring, 2021, was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Western Athletic Conference held from April 13 to April 17, 2021. The five match tournament took place at GCU Stadium in Phoenix, AZ on the campus of Grand Canyon University. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The No. 1 seed Utah Valley defeated No. 2 seed Seattle Redhawks 1–0 in the final.
The 2022 WAC men's basketball tournament is the postseason men's basketball tournament of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for the 2021–22 season. Held during March 8–12, 2022, in Paradise, Nevada, first-round games were played at the Michelob Ultra Arena with all remaining games at the Orleans Arena. The tournament champion, the New Mexico State Aggies, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA tournament.
The 2021 Western Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament was the postseason men's soccer tournament for the Western Athletic Conference held from November 10 to November 14, 2021. The five-match tournament took place at GCU Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona on the campus of Grand Canyon University. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular-season divisional conference play. The defending champions were the Air Force Falcons. Air Force was unable to defend their crown, falling 2–2 in a penalty shoot-out against San Jose State in the First Round. Seattle went on to win the title over Grand Canyon in a penalty shoot-out. This was Seattle's fifth WAC Tournament victory in program history all of which have come under head coach Pete Fewing. As tournament champions, Seattle earned the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2022 Lamar Cardinals baseball team represented Lamar University during the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals played their home games at Vincent–Beck Stadium and were led by sixth–year head coach Will Davis. They were members of the Western Athletic Conference. This was Lamar's first year in the WAC. The Cardinals had a regular season record of 37–21 and a conference record of 20–10 finishing in second place in the WAC Southwest division, one game behind division winner Sam Houston. They participated in the 2022 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament as the second seeded team from the Southwest Division. After winning their first conference tournament game against Seattle, the Cardinals' season ended after losing to West Division first seed Grand Canyon and Southwest Division fourth seed Abilene Christian.
The 2022 Western Athletic Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Western Athletic Conference held from November 2 to November 6, 2022. The five-match tournament took place at Championship Field Stadium in Seattle, Washington on the campus of Seattle University. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular-season divisional conference play. The defending champions were the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon was unable to defend their crown, falling 3–2 against Utah Valley in the Semifinal. New Mexico State would go on to defeat Utah Valley in the Final, 1–0 to win the tournament. This was the first WAC Tournament victory in New Mexico State program history as well as the first victory for head coach Rob Baarts. As tournament champions, New Mexico State earned the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
