The New WAC
TCU moves to the Western Athletic Conference in July, 1996. The New WAC will become the nation's largest major athletic conference, with 16 schools in 9 states.
The WAC men's basketball tournament will be held in March in Las Vegas. The WAC will also have a football title game between the two division winners, which will be held in Las Vegas in December.
When TCU joins the WAC, they will also start competing in women's volleyball, with home games being held on the new parquet wood floors of the Rickel Building.
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| School | Nickname | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force | Falcons | Colorado Springs, CO | Brigham Young | Cougars | Provo, UT | Colorado St. | Rams | Fort Collins, CO | Fresno State | Bulldogs | Fresno, CA | Hawaii | Rainbows/Wahine | Honolulu, HA | UNLV | Rebels | Las Vegas, NV | New Mexico | Lobos | Albuquerque, NM | Rice | Owls | Houston, TX | San Diego State | Aztecs | San Diego, CA | San Jose State | Spartans | San Jose, CA | SMU | Mustangs | Dallas, TX | TCU | Horned Frogs | Fort Worth, TX | UTEP | Miners | El Paso, TX | Tulsa | Golden Hurricane | Tulsa, OK | Utah | Utes | Salt Lake City, UT | University of Wyoming | Cowboys/Cowgirls | Laramie, WY |
For the 1996 and 1997 seasons, one division will consist of quadrants one and three and a second division will consist of quadrants two and four. In 1998 and 1999, one division will be made uip of quadrants one and two, while the other division will be a combination of quadrants three and four. In 2000 and 2001, quadrants one and four form a division, as do quadrants two and three.
Eight conference games will be played in each division. Each institution will play the other seven in its division in addition to one crossover game against a member of the other division. Such a scenario provides for four home WAC games and four road WAC games for each institution.
The winners of each division will meet in the WAC Championship Game to be played on the first Saturday in December in Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The 1996 game is scheduled for December 7 with the winner earning a berth in either the Cotton Bowl or the Holiday Bowl.
Basketball: Similar to football, with a Conference tournament to be held in Las Vegas.
Baseball: Teams will be split into just three divisions. Teams will play their three division opponents six times each year, three times at home and three times on the road. Each team will also play two opponents in each of the other two divisions in a three-game series, either at home or away.
Each school will play 30 league games and has up to 26 non-conference games.
Division I: Rice, TCU, New Mexico and UNLV;
Division II: Air Force, Wyoming, Utah and BYU;
Division III: San Diego State, Hawai'i, Fresno State, and San Jose State. Tournament plans have not been formalized.
School Nickname Location Air Force Falcons Colorado Springs, CO Brigham Young Cougars Provo, UT Colorado State Rams Fort Collins, CO Fresno State Bulldogs Fresno, CA Hawaii Rainbows/Wahine Honolulu, HA UNLV Rebels Las Vegas, NV New Mexico Lobos Albuquerque, NM Rice Owls Houston, TX San Diego State Aztecs San Diego, CA San Jose State Spartans San Jose, CA SMU Mustangs Dallas, TX TCU Horned Frogs Fort Worth, TX UTEP Miners El Paso, TX Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tulsa, OK Utah Utes Salt Lake City, UT Wyoming Cowboys/Cowgirls Laramie, WY