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, Texas, Utah and Washington.
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Division II and Division III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.
The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. Originally established as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in 1978, it was renamed as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, and briefly rebranded as the ASUN Conference from 2016 to 2023. The conference still uses "ASUN" as an official abbreviation. The conference headquarters are located in Jacksonville. On May 8, 2024, the conference announced it would move its headquarters from Atlanta, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida in the fall of 2024.
Utah Tech University (UT), formerly Dixie State University (DSU), is a polytechnic 4-year public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers doctoral degrees, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certifications. As of fall 2022, there are 12,556 students enrolled at UT.
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.
The Eastern Kentucky Colonels football program represents Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) in college football, competing at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC). The school has traditionally had much success on the football field, having won 21 OVC conference titles and two Division I FCS National Championships in 1979 and 1982, and reaching the finals in 1980 and 1981. Much of the success came during the long tenure of head coach Roy Kidd from 1964 to 2002. In 1990, Eastern honored Kidd by naming the school's football stadium Roy Kidd Stadium. Eastern Kentucky's football team was able to secure 31 consecutive winning seasons before finally posting a losing season record in 2009.
The Eastern Kentucky Colonels are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), located in Richmond, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the ASUN Conference since the 2021–22 academic year. Its football team competes in the United Athletic Conference (UAC), which starts play in 2023 as a football-only merger of the ASUN and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Colonels previously competed in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) from 1948–49 to 2020–21.
The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks are composed of 16 teams representing Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in intercollegiate athletics. Stephen F. Austin teams participate in Division I as a member of the Southland Conference (SLC), having rejoined that conference on July 1, 2024 after three years in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for football in the SLC. The only SFA sport not sponsored by the SLC is women's bowling, which competes in Conference USA (CUSA).
The Central Arkansas Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for University of Central Arkansas (UCA) located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC), which started play in 2023. For the 2021 season, UCA was a de facto associate member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and in 2022 it played in its full-time home of the ASUN Conference. Central Arkansas's first football team was fielded in 1908. The team plays its home games at the 12,000-seat Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas. The Bears are coached by Nathan Brown, in his seventh year.
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds football program is a college football team that represents Southern Utah University (SUU). With a history dating back to 1963, SUU currently competes in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision as a member of the United Athletic Conference.
The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as members of the Southland Conference, which SFA rejoins for the 2024 season after a three-year absence. SFA had played the 2023 season in the United Athletic Conference (UAC), newly formed for the 2023 season as a merger of the football leagues of SFA's previous home of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). It replaced an alliance between the two conferences that operated in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
The Utah Tech Trailblazers football team, formerly known as the Dixie State Trailblazers, represent Utah Tech University in the sport of American football. The Trailblazers compete as a member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC) at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Originally a junior college program, the school joined the NCAA at the Division II level in 2006 and played in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference from 2008 through 2016 and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons. In July 2020, they began the transition to NCAA Division I status by moving to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in all sports except football.
The Austin Peay Governors are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Austin Peay State University, located in Clarksville, Tennessee, United States. The Governors athletic program is a member of the NCAA Division I Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) for all sports except football, in which it competes in the United Athletic Conference (UAC). The latter conference started play in the 2023 season as a football-only merger between two conferences in the second tier of Division I football, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)—the ASUN and the Western Athletic Conference. Before the 2022–23 school year, the Governors were members of another FCS league, the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).
The Tarleton State Texans, also known as the Tarleton Texans, are the athletic teams that represent Tarleton State University of Stephenville, Texas in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports.
The 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.
The 2021 Dixie State Trailblazers football team represented Dixie State University—now known as Utah Tech University—as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Paul Peterson and played their home games at Greater Zion Stadium in St. George, Utah. Due to the NCAA's transition rules, they were not eligible for the 2021 FCS Playoffs. Dixie State did not play a full WAC schedule in 2021 due to previous non-conference contracts.
The 2021–22 Dixie State Trailblazers men's basketball team represented Dixie State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trailblazers, led by 17th-year head coach Jon Judkins, played their home games at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The 2022–23 Utah Tech Trailblazers men's basketball team represented Utah Tech University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trailblazers, led by 18th-year head coach Jon Judkins, played home games at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The United Athletic Conference (UAC) also known as The United is an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) intercollegiate athletic conference. The conference is a merger of the existing football leagues of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The UAC covers the southwestern, western, and southern United States with member institutions located in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
The 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The regular season began on August 26 and ended in November. The postseason began in November and ended on January 7, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. South Dakota State repeated as champions, defeating Montana, 23–3.
