WAC Basketball: Examining the 5 newcomer programs for 2021-22 season

Jan 14, 2021; Phoenix, AZ, USA; GCU women's basketball head coach Molly Miller, men's basketball head coach Bryce Drew and Jerry Colangelo (right) talk after announcing that Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah University will join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during a press conference at the GCU Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-Arizona RepublicNews /

1 of 6

WAC Basketball Abilene Christian Wildcats (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

There was a time, especially in the 1990s when the Western Athletic Conference could’ve been considered the preeminent college basketball conference in the west outside of the Pac-10/12. Then in 1999, the Mountain West was born, nearly stripping the WAC bare, with eight members leaving for the new conference. Since the 2001 season, 14 full-time members have left the conference for new homes, Leaving the WAC Basketball scrambling to have enough members to still earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

In 2005 the conference welcomed New Mexico State, which has become the conference’s flagship basketball program. Whether it was a strategy or not, the WAC began to reach out to Division II teams that were making the move up to Division I, beginning in 2012 with Seattle.

In 2013 they expanded in a big way adding six teams including Cal-State Bakersfield (since left for the Big West) and Grand Canyon who earned their first NCAA Tournament bid this past season. In 2018 they welcomed Division II power California Baptist who won 16 games in their first season, and this season Dixie State and Tarleton State joined the group.

In January the league announced that they will be expanding once again by adding five schools over the next two seasons. Four of them, Abilene Christian, Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, and Sam Houston State will compete in the WAC next season, and Southern Utah will join them for the 2022-23 season. These additions should make the WAC a stronger mid-major conference in college basketball. Here’s a look at the newest members of the WAC.