HOUSTON – In a joint announcement with four other schools issued on Thursday, Director of Athletics
Bobby Williams and Sam Houston athletics officially accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference.
The Bearkats, along with fellow Southland Conference members Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian and Lamar, in addition to Big Sky Conference member Southern Utah, joining in 2022, will bring the total number of schools in the WAC to 13 members.
Sam Houston will officially become a Western Athletic Conference member on July 1, 2021, ending a 34-year run in the Southland Conference for Sam Houston. Also part of Thursday's press conference at NRG Stadium, was the announcement of a return to football for the WAC, competing as an FCS conference in 2021.
"I want to thank Western Athletic Conference Jeff Hurd and the rest of the Board of Directors for the WAC in working with us to make this possible," said Director of Athletics
Bobby Williams. "To be able make this move with three other schools that we have so much history with was important for us. The move to the WAC will bring a fresh vision for our department and create new revenue stream opportunities while expanding our regional and national profile."
It will be the fifth league Sam Houston has been affiliated with, having previously competed in the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Lone Star Conference, the Gulf Star Conference before joining the Southland in 1987.
"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 for all," said SHSU president Dr. Alisa White. "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.
"The University looks forward to working with WAC Commissioner Hurd and other member institutions as we prepare for this transition. Over the years, Sam Houston State University has developed strong athletic and academic programs and we look forward to continued success," she said.
The additions will create a 13-team conference that will be divided into two divisions for team sports other than football, men's basketball and women's basketball. One division will consist of the Texas-based institutions including current WAC members Tarleton State University and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The other division will include Southern Utah along with Dixie State University, New Mexico State University, Grand Canyon University, California Baptist University, Seattle University and Utah Valley University.
"I cannot overstate my level of excitement in making this expansion announcement," said WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd, "The opportunity to bring five quality institutions into the conference, to significantly strengthen the WAC's national basketball brand and other championship sport profiles, and to bring football back under the WAC umbrella is one that made sense.
"The end result could not have been accomplished without the collaboration and shared visions of the WAC's Board of Directors and the Presidents of the incoming institutions. It not only stabilizes the conference for the future; it also positions it for significant growth and success," added Hurd.
The new members, along with Dixie State and Tarleton, will give the WAC seven full-time members that play in, or are transitioning to, the Football Championship Subdivision. It is anticipated that at least one more football-playing member will be added, but a timetable has not yet been established.
"When you think of the WAC, you think of some of the great rivalries that took place in that conference. It was one of the great football conferences, and now we get a chance to attach our name to that," said head coach
K.C. Keeler. "It's going to be interesting to see how this all develops over the next three or four years. I know with some movement in our conference we had to make a decision and I think that the decision we made really puts us in the best position in terms of developing a great football conference."
About the Western Athletic Conference
The WAC was formed in 1962 and is comprised of nine member institutions – California Baptist University; Chicago State University; Dixie State University; Grand Canyon University; New Mexico State University; Seattle University; Tarleton State University; The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; and Utah Valley University. Abilene Christian University, Lamar University, Sam Houston State University, Stephen F. Austin State University will be joining the WAC in 2021 and Southern Utah University will be joining the WAC in 2022. The WAC crowns team and individual champions in 19 sports – eight men's and 11 women's championships. The WAC office is in the Denver metropolitan area.
