The History of the WAC

Of all the conferences torn apart by conference realignment that have seemingly been lost to time, the Western Athletic Conference, or WAC, tends to be listed near the front. This might be due to the fact that the conference is trying to reinvent itself as an FCS football league at the moment, or due to its infamous blunder in 1996 where it was made up of 16 colleges that stretched from Texas to Hawai'i and was so large it collapsed in on itself from its own weight, with the half that split from it in 1999, the Mountain West, eventually becoming the stronger and more viable conference.
But it's that 16-team makeup that is so drastically different in 2024 than it was in 1996, as 16 seems to be the baseline for the four Power Conferences, with the Big 12 and SEC both consisting of 16 teams and the Big Ten and ACC consisting of an even larger 18.
But the WAC's seeds are sewn in many different conferences in the modern day, to the point where it has echoes in the Big 12, ACC, American, and Conference USA, as well as the obvious Mountain West. Stories of Arizona State and Utah's athletic dominance in the 60s and 70s pair with the track and field dynasties of the UTEP Miners and the last non-power conference football national championship, belonging to BYU in 1984. And as its teams changed hands, it continued to adapt and evolve until it couldn't anymore---and even further after that.
Come with me as I take a quick walk back through the history of the Western Athletic Conference.
0:00 - Introduction
1:25 - The Skyline Conference
3:44 - The Western Athletic Conference
9:27 - The Collapse
13:38 - The Rebirth (Non-Football)
15:08 - Pushing for FCS Football
17:15 - WAC Championships
17:50 - Conclusion
No content used in this video belongs to me and is only utilized legally through fair use for the purpose of education. Video is sourced from BYU.tv and ABC and was obtained on KZbin. Images are sourced whenever possible to their respective rights owners. All music was sourced through KZbin's free audio library. Timeline of events and official placements of said events were sourced through the WAC's official history pages on their website, listed below:
wacsports.com/...

[@lukeontheplains]

Can't get enough WAC? I highly suggest you watch @JKJ's video on the WAC, which is only about half a year old at this point. It's one of the better college sports history videos on the platform!

[@d0ntfeedphil447]

Do you think the Mountain West can fill the void the PAC 12 left?

[@colorfulmarbles156]

Can we have an video about the America East confrence?

[@JKJ002]

Thank you for the mention! This video was amazing man, great job! Can never get enough of the WAC

[@manzac112]

This is why I always appreciate the MAC, Sunbelt, and Mountain West. They aren't power 5 conferences nor are they feeder conferences that get picked apart, but they stay true to what they are as conferences.

[@nashmonti120]

The MAC and Sunbelt don’t get picked apart, but the MWC sure has lil

[@EU_Red_Fox]

The Big East is the best version of this as they kicked CFB out and it has done wonders for stability. All conferences that go with CFB will be doomed to chaos outside of a very lucky few.

[@brandonhuberty8636]

The mountain west might not have been picked apart a lot. But is founded by picking apart the wac

[@MasonOtt-ik7px]

As a MAC fan, I don't think anyone wants our teams except for Miami and Toledo lol

[@CSXincyRailfan]

This shall be a mini-warning to the current conferences, that being bog doesn't mean stability, especially coast to coast Edit: I meant Big but keep commenting bog folks!

[@DYLANMATHEWS49]

Bog

[@Nohandleentered]

That feels like it’ll mostly be a problem for the ACC and maybe the Big12

[@d0ntfeedphil447]

Bog

[@floydthomas5562]

Bog moment

[@ksolesky2]

My favorite conferences: Bog 12 Bog 10 Bog East Bog Sky Bog South Bog West

[@sockthesaduofastudent5096]

Can I just say I love these conference history videos? Nowhere else can you get as insightful historical analysis of a conference with added entertainment. Easily one of my favorite serieses on KZbin

[@NC-youtube]

What I find interesting when watching these conference videos is how history can repeat itself. 4/6 of the founding members of the WAC for instance are going to be Big XII members later this year.

[@andrewsever98]

The WAC's sheer ability to stay alive after everything is just impressive. The Mountain West could have killed it, C-USA could have killed it, but nope, there are gonna be WAC games this year.

[@joshuawalton6447]

This is my conference as a Utah Valley student and die hard fan. Thanks for this video! You should do a full video on the current state of the WAC, especially in basketball. My UVU Wolverines had a season for the ages last year. 28 wins (most in Utah) and the final four of the NIT. Unforgettable year!

[@itsjohnnyr8560]

You guys can take over after my GCU runs the WAC one last time before we move up to the big time.

[@MetalGod999]

Very insightful video about the Western Athletic Conference. To quote what Lukas wisely said, "Memories of LaVell Edwards, Colt Brennan, and the Statue of Liberty echo loudly through the Western United States, even as those days are long gone and the actors involved have all gone their separate ways." But there's a lesson to be learned here: Sometimes bigger isn't always better. And the WAC -- or is it the "WACKY!" -- should serve as a reminder to these burgeoning super-conferences that bigger isn't always better. But will the rest of the college sports world listen? Well...probably not. But hey, you can't give up hope.

[@michaelcolucci8237]

Wow, what ride this one was. It's crazy seeing how so many schools diverge and converge. What a good video. Love seeing Blaster for CSM in the RMAC part of the video. Feels like a throwback to the border conference video. Dont know if you were thinking of my comment Dalukes, but nice detail either way.

[@lukeontheplains]

I remembered! Such a good logo. Impossible to leave it out.

[@1234Peacekeeper]

Another great video. I was at my peak college football spectator the years of the WAC collapse. At the time, Boise State departure was 'with the WAC's blessing. ' at least that's the press releases said.

[@20thCY]

I wonder how this timeline would be different if Washington State, Oregon, and Oregon State joined the WAC as it seemed early on instead of just staying in the Pac

[@quarterbackgr]

I can't wait for the Big West video! The forgotten D1 conference

[@zplapplap]

Thanks for mentioning these college and university name changes. You’ve connected the dots in my historical understanding. 😯

[@HobbesTHero]

Love the video! Just something I noticed though: UIW was never a member of the WAC. They joined D1 in the Southland and have remained there ever since.

[@SpectacularSports21]

Whose UIW

[@stevenrose86]

See, everyone thinks conference realignment started in 1991, but it has been happening for as long as there has been football

[@CanyonBerry]

I miss when Arizona shared a conference with Hardin-Simmons 😢

[@jonathandavis1230]

absolutely love that you use retro logos for these videos, well done!

[@gb6710]

I’m glad you finally made a video about the WAC.

[@alex47927]

Great video man! The story of the conference truly is one of the most interesting out there!

[@CamBoone]

I say it every time, but I love this series and so glad I found this channel. As a southerner I always heard of the WAC but never really knew who was in it, or how competitive they were from year to year lol

[@GonzoR6]

I was at Lamar for the 2020 WAC transition and people hated them leaving the Southland Conference just for them to then pay out to leave early and go back.

[@volbound1700]

It seems like the WAC's issue is that it got away from its Geographical region. Had it stayed focus on its region and just stayed smaller with teams in that area, it would still be around. Probably wouldn't have held onto Colorado, Utah, Arizona teams, etc. They were always destined to rise up but teams like Idaho, Utah State, New Mexico, Wyoming, UNLV, etc. would still be on board.

[@nathansoutherland4001]

Can we get a Sun Belt rivalries video? loved watching Troy/Marshall as a kid and glad the game looks to be back.

[@dougallen1769]

The 16-game conference in 1996 was groundbreaking and should’ve continued for Football. It would’ve made a lot of sense to spinoff 2 separate All-Sport conferences because those are what really increase travel.

[@lazarbro]

BIG WEST VIDEO HERE WE COME

[@JTMont21]

Thank you so much for making these videos. I really enjoy them.

[@aarontully17]

Babe wake up, dalukes dropped a new conference history video

[@nathandougherty3945]

nice to go down memory lane... god i miss the 90's

[@newmexicanpersonwhoexists]

UPDATE: Grand Canyon & Seattle accepted invites to join the WCC, and UTRGV accepted an invitation to the southland

[@newmexicanpersonwhoexists]

Stephen F. Austin also accepted an invite to the south land

[@collin9324]

Boise state leaving really was the nail in the coffin for the WAC

[@NicAngerstein]

Great video once again. Thank you

[@mk-4lfe128]

I was one of many probably that said history of the wac should be next, right on dalukes!!!

[@Lfg117]

Fun trivia re BYU cfb's dynastic run: started in 1978, conveniently, the very 1st calendar yr after the 2 Az schools left the WAC. BYU had quality teams, at certain spots, between 1970 & 1977. But in the mid-70s, there was a 3-yr stretch where the 2 Az schools had great success, in fb, vs "The 'Y'". 😂. I lived in the Phoenix-area when all that happened. In Phoenix, LDS sway is so big there were BYU fb games on radio (and extensive print newspaper writeups re BYU fb). So Ik that the LavellEdwards hypey story accelerated exactly right after hcFrankKush & AzSt left the WAC, starting in 1978. Then, voila! BYU fb started averaging 10- or 11+ wins per year 🤣. Not hating: if BYU or Utah face non-Az schools in cfb? I'm rootin' for the Cougs or Utes.

[@matthewwhittington-jk9ep]

Wac had 16 teams in 1998 and tcu smu rice were left out just like swc and utep Hawaii and Fresno state were shocked that they were not invited to the new conference.

[@TabascoKid]

Now I have to talk to my grandkids about the PAC 12 like my grandpa talked to me about the SWC

[@GlassJoe1337]

Got to love realignment. 2 months and this is already outdated.

[@austinunderwood]

Woo! North Alabama reference!

[@TheCdubbleyoo]

What does this video have against the Big East logo? And why does it seem to imply that Louisiana Tech isn't in the Central time zone?

[@lukeontheplains]

I say this with all sincerity-what on earth are you yapping about?

[@kaih307]

Finally some Wyoming mentions 🤠

[@warrenp3922]

The birth of the MWC....soon to be the new PAC

[@CanyonBerry]

Could you imagine if the WAC had kept its original six and added Washington State and Oregon State, along with the rose bowl tie-in to become the eight team new PAC-8

[@deester7914]

I’d love to see my North Alabama Lions make the jump to FBS, but it will be a LONG time before that happens, if ever. We only become D1 a few years ago and our game against FSU is the biggest thing to happen to our program to this point. Regardless I’d love to see UNA at some point maybe make a New Orleans Bowl or something lol. Roar Lions!

[@worldsgreatestdude1784]

Could fellow UAC school Tarleton State go FBS in the future? I only care as I go there.

[@christopherwebb3517]

The Mountain West Conference is really just the WAC under a different name.

[@someperson3883]

Incarnate Word has been a Southland member not WAC. At least in football since 2014. And Stephen F. Austin and UTRGV are now in the Southland

[@sportscastradio8658]

The WAC(A Super-Conference that died)

[@CanyonBerry]

The WAC(A Power-Conference that could've been)

[@N.J.D.M.S]

GCU MENTIONED. My school 😢

[@CanyonBerry]

They should sponsor football and become the UCF of the west

[@ohwaitchristian]

the NCAA wouldve allowed the WAC to return to FBS, but I read that since they formed the UAC with the ASUN, its no longer possible. rip colt brennan

[@collin9324]

“Some are in the mountain west”

[@ajnewhouse6217]

once you go through all of the conferences you should do an analysis of independent teams and how it’s dwindled to only a few now

[@naikznn]

favorite part of the videos are the era specific logos

[@neelyw.7028]

YOO WE GET SOME SKYLINE CONFRENCE HISTORY

[@hunkerd0wn]

I am once again requesting an SEC history video lol

[@kaegerator]

TOM DIENHART MENTIONED (i am a purdue student)

[@burgon.g82]

Can you do the southern or northeast conference

[@SnowyFox1831]

Why is the SEC logo in the videos in “LSU colors”?😅

[@jamesharrison7112]

love this series? Is it SEC next?

[@chrissao_502]

All the ending did was make me sad and wish for the "glory" days of Southland.

[@MJGOAT]

When talking about the football championships I think you have to mention how the wac was disrespected so it’s teams like Boise st didn’t even get a chance

[@TheDockHawkChannel]

Missouri Valley/Ohio Valley/ Summit Conference next?

[@lukeontheplains]

Boy do I have a surprise for you sometime soon

[@TheDockHawkChannel]

@@lukeontheplains OH GOODY

[@CanyonBerry]

Summit league and Missoui Valley football conference for the win

[@CanyonBerry]

I'm pretty sure this video is a precursor to MW history

[@andrewfredericksen]

love this, and that 1984 ship is verrrryyy suspect

[@zplapplap]

As a kid, it seemed as legit as any normal year when championships were decided by polls and ratings services. 🤷🏾‍♂️. Without looking it up, I think BYU was voted #1 by the AP. It couldn’t have been the strongest schedule. But, it was a damn good program at that time, and fun to watch.

[@gabrielfaure9091]

Utah’s future BIG XII foe West Virginia. What the fuck

[@Lfg117]

Not: "Arizona State conveniently played [the 1st Fiesta Bowl, in 1971] in their home stadium"(🙄).The other 7 fb members of the 1971 WAC had every opportunity to represent the WAC in that inaugural 1971 Fiesta Bowl. Bet u know the reason the Fiesta Bowl was created? 1960s/1970s Cfb, nationwide, had a patchwork, highly subjective, archaic, restrictive and limited-in-scope, structure of cfb bowl game opportunities, nationwide (eg, dumb rules in the b1g at that time were "Exhibit 'A'"). The result? Deserving teams, nationwide, weren't given bowl invites. Early 70s: AzSt-adjacent donor$ created the Fiesta Bowl, giving the WAC fb champ a guaranteed bowl berth. AzSt had 1960s squads deserving of bowl-invites that were left out. 'Eastern-bias': the desert-based Az schools, by necessity, played mostly night games. Scores of AzSt fb games were little more than a 1-line entry, but not till the Monday morning edition of the NYC- or Chicago-based newspapers! FiestaBowl was created to give Rocky Mountains-region cfb much needed visibility & exposure to eastern-based print news media. If u didn't live in the late 60s/early 70s, u may not fully appreciate how minimal was the coverage of Rocky Mountains fb in eastern U.S. newspapers (readership of a Monday morning sports page was maybe 15%[?] of Sunday paper readership). 'Eastern-bias', part 2: u already know - the HeismanTrophy, at its 1935 inception, was literally created only for players "east of the Mississippi River." 🙄 Point made. Ffs. Paul Harvey: "And now u know the rest of the story." Thank God the Fiesta Bowl was created.

[@PrimeTime399]

do an sec vid

[@EisenSMT]

Dang that's WACky

[@beavsfan1]

Is it hard being this cool all the time?

[@hanyuzhu7276]

Kentucky to WAC confirmed?!

[@CanyonBerry]

​@@hanyuzhu7276Oregon State and WSU to the WACkyPACky-8?

[@beavsfan1]

@@CanyonBerry I don’t care

[@royboy1984]

The pathetic former shell of it's former self conference.

[@CanyonBerry]

What if the original six of the WAC stayed together. The Pac-8 would eventually disband to the ACC and Big Ten, and Washington State and Oregon State get poached by the WAC.

[@JB-tl8rj]

And now the WAC is dying again

[@kobeisabelle7029]

UIW was never a member of the WAC

[@lukeontheplains]

they were set to join, then backed out.

[@leewilliam236]

@@lukeontheplains 14:30-15:55 Your video displays that UIW joined in 2013-2022.

[@michaelwall3393]

The WAC was never never ever ever a power conference or a conference of champions or even close.

[@ChaseRiver2]

history of the SEC???

[@vincenzopalesi]

WAC WAC WAC

[@CanyonBerry]

CALL CALL CALL?

[@MsCarfire]

you need two take a long break right now

[@andrewolding8747]

Small conferences are better.

[@voiceofreason2674]

🙄anything besides an SEC video

[@IBangedUrMom69420]

Saving the SEC for last. Besides, the other conferences are way more interesting.

[@voiceofreason2674]

@@IBangedUrMom69420 haha! How TF they more interesting? the SEC is the college league that best tells the story of football in America as a whole. It's where football surpassed baseball as America's sport. Within the SEC is the story of how the Super Bowl Era NFL overtook College football as America's favorite football. It's THE league, modern CFB consolidation times is whack but the SEC deserves its flowers for being the beating heart of football in America

[@DrunkMonkey2010]

Love your channel Question , since it’s black history month , could you possibly do a video on the historical black conferences like the SWAC and MEAC 👀👀 @lukeontheplains

[@lukeontheplains]

I'd definitely be interested in that. I'll have to see if I can do one before the end of the month. I know I'm running out of time though!

[@zplapplap]

@@lukeontheplainsLeap year. 🤦🏽‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️ 😆 I would appreciate it in March, or any other month. 👍🏽

[@lukeontheplains]

I've really wanted to for a while, since even among those who support teams in those conferences, there just isn't much knowledge on the history. If I could get a creator on to guest and help me with it, it would be an even better video.

[@zplapplap]

@@lukeontheplains Thanks for the reply. I’ll give some thought to personally taking on a project and contact you about maybe putting something together for your long term calendar.

[@lukeontheplains]

sounds good!