Like Sam Houston, SFA began its Southland membership in 1987. SFA completed a 10-game football schedule in the fall of 2020, going 6-4. The Bearkats will play their 2021 fall football season representing the WAC. Sam Houston State, which opted out of the 2020 fall athletic season, will still play a six-game Southland spring football season in 2021. The conference had played at the highest NCAA level for all of its 41 seasons before it quit sponsoring football in 2012. It has been reported the WAC would like a return to the top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision within a decade. Chicago State, which opted out of the 2020-21 season because of the coronavirus pandemic, will soon leave the WAC voluntarily.Īstros bullpen catcher Bracamonte takes in HR Derby up close The WAC is pursuing a football-playing member to make it a 14-team league. “The WAC has made us better, and we’ve helped the WAC as well with all the schools coming,” Williams said. The Western Division will consist of Southern Utah and holdovers California Baptist at Riverside, Dixie State, Grand Canyon, New Mexico State, Seattle and Utah Valley. Making up the Southwest Division are the new Texas members as well as Tarleton State and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The WAC, which was seeking economic sustainability in its expansion, will have two divisions in all sports except football and basketball. “This move to the WAC will allow us to take a step forward in achieving our vision of becoming the leading mid-major athletic department in the nation,” SFA athletic director Ryan Ivey said. Tarleton State and Dixie State are transitioning to full Division I Status, and New Mexico State will remain an independent in the Football Bowl Subdivision.įinancially invested, the Texas Four have all made significant upgrades in facilities recently and are looking at options to expand revenue and exposure to their institutions. The new football league will compete at the Football Championship Series level, same as the Southland, and is scheduled to begin play this fall.īesides the WAC’s five new members, only New Mexico State, Tarleton State and Dixie State have football programs. The reinstatement of football - previously a WAC sport from 1962 to 2012 - and the enhancement of basketball were the impetus for the conference to add the Texas Four. To switch conferences in conjunction with four other universities, including three from Texas, makes this move even more advantageous in raising the profile of Bearkat athletics.” Alisa White: “Sam Houston State University’s move to the WAC will mutually benefit our university and the conference in providing the best opportunities for program success and a quality student-athlete experience. It all just came together for us.”Īdded school president Dr. “They had the same type of vision that we did: what they wanted to accomplish, being able to bring back football to the WAC, also the opportunity to explore FBS football, a possibility down the road. “When the WAC discussions (in the spring) started, we looked at it, (and) we saw a very positive situation where the universities were growing,” Sam Houston athletic director Bobby Williams said. With the end of a 34-year run in the Southland, Thursday was a monumental day for Sam Houston State, comparable to when the Huntsville school transitioned to NCAA Division I from Division II in 1987. Southern Utah will join the WAC on July 1, 2022. But their exit from the Southland was expedited to July 1 of this year. Originally, the four Texas institutions were to enter the WAC together on July 1, 2022. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.Houston Baptist, which joined the Southland in 2013, will remain in the SLC. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of their primary team color. Results Results by year īelow are the results from all WAC Football Championship Games played. All participants in the three title games were among the defections to Mountain West. When conference membership was cut in half in 1999 with the formation of the Mountain West Conference, both the championship game and two-division format were discontinued. The top finisher in each division played for the championship, which was held at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas Valley. During this time, the league was split into two divisions, Pacific and Mountain, with eight teams in each division. The Western Athletic Conference staged a conference title football game during the three years (1996–1998) the league consisted of sixteen members. The Western Athletic Conference football championship game was a short-lived annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of the Western Athletic Conference (MW).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |