WAC School History

The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is among the oldest collegiate athletic conferences. Founded in 1962, it has been home to some of the most successful college sports programs and athletes over its long history. From Boise State's miraculous Fiesta Bowl victory to Fresno State's two NCAA Division I baseball championships, WAC schools have made their mark on intercollegiate athletics.

For decades, teams from WAC schools have competed for conference titles while making deep runs into postseason play. The University of New Mexico Lobos are perhaps best known for winning six consecutive conference football titles between 2009 and 2014 under head coach Bob Davie, named Coach of the Year by Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports during that span. Meanwhile, San Jose State’s men’s basketball team won three straight regular season championships from 2004 to 2006 behind a core group led by NBA Hall Of Famer Gary Payton II and future NBA All-Star Jason Richardson.

In addition to these accomplishments at individual institutions within the league, there are several notable achievements that all members can point to with pride, such as when Utah became just one school ever since 1950 to win outright or share four consecutive regular-season crowns across multiple sports (football/men’s basketball). Then, in 2011, TCU joined them after capturing back-to-back Mountain West Football Championships before becoming an inaugural member of the Big 12 Conference, where they went on to compete against some top-tier competition, including Oklahoma Sooners & Texas Longhorns. This type of success speaks volumes about the quality talent throughout the entire membership, including Air Force Academy Falcons, Colorado St Rams, Nevada Wolf Pack, UNLV Rebels & Wyoming Cowboys.

Overall, it is safe to say no matter what sport you follow, chances are good there will be something exciting happening somewhere inside the Western Athletic Conference!