Related Research Articles
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.
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 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 Atlanta.
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 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 1962, the annual tournament has only been held since 1984.
The Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Western Athletic Conference's (WAC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1980–81 season. Keith Van Horn of Utah and Nick Fazekas of Nevada are the only players to have won the award three times. Three other players—Michael Cage, Josh Grant and Melvin Ely—have won the award twice. Danny Ainge, the first ever WAC Player of the Year, was also the John R. Wooden Award winner in 1980–81.
The UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team, or UTRGV Vaqueros, represents the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas, United States. The school's team competed in the Western Athletic Conference through the 2023–24 season, and will move to the Southland Conference after that season. They play their home games at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The Vaqueros are one of 45 Division I programs to have never appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
The Texas–Pan American Broncs were the varsity athletic teams representing University of Texas–Pan American in Edinburg, Texas in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsored 15 teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field ; soccer and volleyball for women only; and baseball for men only. The last varsity sport to be established for the Broncs was women's soccer, added for the 2014 season, with men's soccer added in 2015, the year that the merger took place. The Broncs compete in the NCAA Division I and are currently members of the Western Athletic Conference.
The UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball team, or the UTRGV Vaqueros, is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, an NCAA Division I institution with several campuses in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, United States. UTRGV was formally founded in 2013 with the announced merger of the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA), with its main campus in Edinburg, and the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) in Brownsville, with the merged university beginning operation in the 2015–16 school year. The Vaqueros compete in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), play home games at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg, and are coached by Derek Matlock.
The 2014–15 Texas–Pan American Broncs men's basketball team represented the University of Texas–Pan American during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This were head coach Dan Hipsher's second season at UTPA. The Broncs played their home games at the UTPA Fieldhouse and were members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 10–21, 4–10 in WAC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament to UMKC.
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 competed in the Western Athletic Conference. In March 2024, it was reported that the Vaqueros would leave the WAC for the Southland Conference, beginning in the 2024-25 academic year.
The 2015–16 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team represented the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Dan Hipsher's third season with the UTRGV program, although his first under the "UTRGV" name. The Vaqueros played their home games at the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the university's campus in Edinburg, Texas and were members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 8–22, 4–10 in WAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament to Seattle.
The UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). The school competed in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), part of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), through the 2023–24 season. In July 2024, UTRGV will leave the WAC for the Southland Conference. The Vaqueros play home basketball games at the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the university campus in Edinburg, Texas.
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 2021 WAC women's basketball tournament was the postseason women's basketball tournament for the Western Athletic Conference during the 2020–21 season. All tournament games were played at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, March 10–13, 2021. Cal Baptist won the tournament and would have received the WAC's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament, but, due to transition from Division II to Division I, are ineligible. The WAC automatic bid went to Utah Valley, who finished second in the regular season standings.
The 2022–23 WAC men's basketball season began with practices in October 2022 followed by the start of the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2022. The conference began play in December 2022. This is the WAC's 61st season of basketball. The WAC competed again with 13 teams with two teams leaving the conference and two teams joining the conference from the prior year. Chicago State turned independent and Lamar moved to the Southland Conference. Southern Utah University joins from the Big Sky Conference and UT Arlington joins from the Sun Belt Conference. Dixie State was also renamed as Utah Tech. Each WAC member played an 18-game conference schedule. The WAC tournament was held March 6–11, 2023 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The United Athletic Conference (UAC) is an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) 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, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah, with a future member located in Georgia.
The 2023–24 WAC men's basketball season began with practices in October followed by the start of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in early November 2023. The conference began play in late November 2023. This is the WAC's 62nd season of basketball. The WAC competed with 11 teams due to two teams having left the conference since the prior season. Both New Mexico State and Sam Houston joined Conference USA effective July 1, 2023. The WAC tournament was held March 13–16, 2024 with the top eight teams competing for the automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament at Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada.
References
- ↑ Courtesy: New Mexico State University (2009-06-24). "New Mexico State Athletics - 2011 and 2012 WAC Basketball Tournaments Headed to Las Vegas". Nmstatesports.com. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ↑ "WAC Adopts Seeding System for Basketball Tournaments" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. July 15, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.