The NCAA News - News and Features

June 1, 1998

Eight WAC schools announce plans to form new conference

Eight member institutions of the Western Athletic Conference announced May 26 that they will leave the 16-team league after the 1998-99 academic year to form a new conference.

The institutions planning to leave the WAC are the U.S. Air Force Academy; Brigham Young University; Colorado State University; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; the University of New Mexico; San Diego State University; the University of Utah; and the University of Wyoming.

"The 16-team league (created two years ago) was not going to work"' New Mexico athletics director Rudy Davalos told The Associated Press. "It wasn't the fault of the commissioner or any school. It was just one of those unmanageable type numbers."

The eight schools based their decision on the lack of traditional rivalries, rising travel costs and insufficient revenue growth. The WAC spans 3,900 miles and four time zones, ranging from Hawaii to Oklahoma.

"We've had our growing pains, and we've had our own members question how operable it is. We've been our own worst enemies at times," Commissioner Karl D. Benson told the AP. "I'm obviously disappointed we didn't have more time to make it work."

Seeking recognition

The eight departing institutions indicated they will ask the NCAA to recognize the new unnamed conference immediately.

"You've got a group of eight institutions that are committed to making a new conference work," said Colorado State President Albert C. Yates.

The institutions remaining in the WAC are California State University, Fresno; the University of Hawaii, Manoa; Rice University; San Jose State University; Southern Methodist University; Texas Christian University; the University of Texas at El Paso; and the University of Tulsa.

Representatives of those institutions said they were caught by surprise by the announcement.

"None of us had any knowledge of this particular effort," Hawaii President Kenneth P. Mortimer said. "We are in a situation now where we are trying to analyze where we are at this time."

"Right now we're kind of in a state of shock," Tulsa athletics director Judy MacLeod said. "We're trying to regroup and see where everybody is at."

The WAC has football and basketball television contracts with ESPN. It also plays a role in the football bowl "super alliance."

Recent decision

San Diego State President Stephen L. Weber said Utah, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Wyoming and Air Force officials made the decision to secede during a meeting May 22 at Denver International Airport. San Diego State, UNLV and New Mexico then were asked to join them.

"Certainly from our point of view, the choice between whether we would like to play with these folks or the other folks, these are the people that our fans have more interest in," Weber said.

Administrators from the eight remaining institutions said they did not know what will happen after next year.

"That's down the road, and to speculate would be premature," Southern Methodist athletics director W. James Copeland Jr. said. "Our plan is to make a go of it with eight teams."

"Everything is up in the air," UTEP athletics director Bob Stull said. "I don't even know what we call ourselves. For now, we'll continue to be the WAC. But from what teams to include to what we call ourselves to what they call themselves is unclear. Right now, the WAC as it was traditionally known doesn't exist. We're more the Southwest Conference."