Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is excited to welcome Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah as new members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
Four of the new institutions are in Texas, giving the WAC six Texas-based members, including Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State and UTRGV. A seventh member, New Mexico State, is just across the Texas/New Mexico border in Las Cruces, but in the same media market as El Paso. The WAC is currently on track to have 13 full-time members in 2022-23 following the voluntary departure of Chicago State on June 30, 2022.
The WAC, which was established in 1962, has a proud history of having a strong presence in Texas, with past members including Rice (1996-2005), SMU (1996-2005), TCU (1996-2001), UT Arlington (2012-13), UTEP (1968-2005), UTSA (2012-13), and Texas State (2012-13).
That means that 13 of the Texas’ 24 NCAA Division I institutions will either be or have been full-time members of the WAC.
Additionally, the WAC will have the most full-time Texas members of any NCAA Division I conference with six. The next closest conferences will be the Big 12 (four) and Conference USA (four). In total, the remaining 18 Texas institutions will be split up among seven conferences, including the Southland (three), the American (two), the Sun Belt (two), the SWAC (two), and the SEC (one).
“I cannot overstate my level of excitement in making this expansion announcement,” WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd said. “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.”
The large Texas footprint will have a significant impact on UTRGV’s ability to recruit throughout the state by putting UTRGV teams into more Texas markets during conference play following non-conference schedules that can be full of other Texas opponents.
This will have a major impact on UTRGV’s ability to brand itself throughout the state as well. Formed in 2015, UTRGV continues to expand its recruitment efforts and push enrollment numbers, including a record enrollment of 32,618 students this past fall following a record summer enrollment on 17,582. Most recently, UTRGV welcomed 30,147 students the first day of the spring 2021 semester.
“I would like to personally applaud WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd for helping to secure the long-term stability of the WAC,” UTRGV President Guy Bailey said. “The expansion of the WAC, particularly in Texas, will serve to strengthen our institution and our region. The strength of the conference gives us great stability for our athletic programs and provides UTRGV Athletics opportunities for growth. The visibility of our athletic teams as they compete around the state will allow our sphere of influence to grow, enhancing our recruiting efforts as we look to bring the best and the brightest students to UTRGV.”
Travel will become much more efficient and there is now the potential to reduce the amount of missed class time for UTRGV student-athletes. Vaqueros fans will also have the ability to travel to road games on a more regular basis and create more natural rivalries within the state.
Additionally, the incorporation of Southern Utah adds to the conference’s western footprint and puts more institutions within driving distance of each other, which will cut down on flights between road games.
The conference becomes more competitive with the addition of the new programs as well. Over the last three fully completed years, the average team ranking of the WAC’s future structure would have improved by 20 spots in men’s basketball, 45 spots in women’s basketball and 24 spots in baseball.
“We are excited to say to the student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and supporters of Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah, ‘Welcome to the WAC,’” UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque said. “The visions and values of these institutions’ athletic departments align well with our own. This is a significant realignment that creates a strong future for our conference. The WAC and UTRGV won big with today’s announcement, and we are thrilled to be part of such a strong conference with a very bright future.”
All five of the new institutions play FCS football, as do Dixie State and Tarleton State, which are both in their first year of a four-year transition to the NCAA Division I level.
The addition of football to the WAC provides UTRGV with a path forward to revisit conversations regarding football with students and members of the campus and Rio Grande Valley communities.
UTRGV commissioned College Sports Solutions to conduct a football feasibility study in 2016. The study was completed in August 2017. Legendary University of Texas football coach Mack Brown, now the head coach at North Carolina, volunteered to chair the committee, while former NCAA Executive Vice President Oliver Luck agreed to serve as a special consultant.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT WAC EXPANSION
We are extremely excited over the addition of five more universities to the WAC. Each of these schools are renowned for their successful athletic programs and facilities. The four baseball programs added to the league are led by outstanding coaches and staff with great traditions. This moves the WAC into the next level of being one of the top tier conferences in the nation.
-UTRGV Baseball Head Coach Derek Matlock
I think it’s a good thing. Adding those schools from Texas will make it better for us in terms of travel, but it’ll also be a fun thing. We have a lot of Texas guys on our team, as do the new Texas schools, and we all know their players, so it’ll make for good, competitive games.
-UTRGV Baseball Student-Athlete Ricky Gerik Jr. (Waco, Texas)
I’m excited to have all these Texas teams come in. I think it helps us tremendously with recruiting. We were the only team from the WAC in Texas for a long time and this year one of two. Half of our student-athletes are from Texas, and now their families will have more chances to see them play. Playing all of these Texas opponents helps to expand our recruiting base as well. The great teams that are coming in just made this conference even better and more competitive from top to bottom. The WAC is back!
-UTRGV Men’s Basketball Head Coach Lew Hill
These are some exciting times for those of us in the WAC and for those joining the WAC. The addition of these schools really makes the WAC stronger and I am excited to see what is in store for the WAC in the future. The bar certainly has been raised and this move makes all of us stronger. Having four more Texas school in the WAC with us will help our department in all facets, from recruiting to traveling and even student-athlete experience. We have had some pretty good competition with some of these schools and I look forward to building on those in the future. The WAC definitely got stronger today.
-UTRGV Women’s Basketball Head Coach Lane Lord
I’m excited about the added competition because it increases the depth of the conference from top to bottom. We’re looking forward to competing against these new teams and I’m excited to welcome them to the WAC.
-UTRGV Men’s Golf Head Coach Philip Tate
I think with these new teams coming in, it will bring more attention to the WAC and just make us stronger. As players, we will become motivated and more competitive than ever.
-UTRGV Men’s Golf Student-Athlete Andres Cortez (La Feria, Texas)
We couldn’t be more excited about the expansion. This move will add to the notoriety for UTRGV both as a university and as an athletic program. We are excited to compete and create history with these institutions in the future. We welcome them with open arms and look at the WAC as a strong contender on a national scale in collegiate golf championships for years to come.
-UTRGV Women’s Golf Head Coach Bryan Novoa
I am excited to have these new schools join our conference because they will increase both the level of competitiveness and make our conference better nationally. With the addition to these schools, the WAC will have a strong reputation in Texas!
-UTRGV Women’s Golf Student-Athlete Samantha Garza (San Antonio, Texas)
We are excited about the conference expansion! Adding additional members, particularly those in Texas, to an already strong conference will only continue to push the WAC on a national scale.
-UTRGV Men’s Soccer Head Coach Bryheem Hancock
The expansion of the WAC is an exciting time for both players and coaches. It not only raises the profile of the league, but also introduces teams that will immediately compete for titles in nearly every sport, something that will be very exciting for our fans.
-UTRGV Women’s Soccer Head Coach Glad Bugariu
Abilene Christian and Lamar have each won their conference regular season or tournament in recent history. Both programs will be welcome additions to the WAC in men’s tennis.
-UTRGV Men’s Tennis Head Coach Dann Nelson
This is awesome. It’s definitely going to help us with our travel schedule. Whenever we have WAC play, we compete in clusters hosted by different institutions. Now half of the men’s tennis teams in the WAC will be based in Texas, giving us an advantage.
-UTRGV Men’s Tennis Student-Athlete Zane Kohrs (Dallas, Texas)
The addition of four schools in the state of Texas greatly enhances the student-athlete experience with increased competition against strong athletic programs requiring less travel for family and friends to attend games. I am really looking forward to battling against the new competition and thank you to all of those involved in adding value to the WAC.
-UTRGV Women’s Tennis Head Coach West Nott
As a former WAC football athlete at Tulsa in the early 2000’s, this is very exciting to see a resurgence and new energy within the conference. These schools are also nationally recognized and competitive track and cross country programs. I’m excited to see how this expansion will raise the standard of competition as well as the reputation of the WAC for years to come.
-UTRGV Track & Field/Cross Country head coach Darren Flowers
I think it’s super exciting for UTRGV to be in an expanded WAC. It gives us stability. The teams that are joining give us a footprint in the state of Texas that I think can move us in a direction that’s very beneficial for our university, especially when it comes to recruiting. Locally, people will see the names of teams that they identify with a little more, and I think that’s going to increase the excitement in the community. We’re going to be way more visible throughout the state while developing rivalries with these new Texas opponents. We’ve seen what the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, has done for our rivalry with Corpus Christi. Now we’ll have that opportunity with five other schools in WAC play every year.
-UTRGV Volleyball Head Coach Todd Lowery
I think the expansion of the WAC and the addition of all these schools will have a great impact on UTRGV. I’m a Texas-native and played a lot of those Southland schools while I was at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It will make us a more powerful conference overall. Playing that many more Texas teams changes recruiting for us too. Out of high school, I chose to stay in Texas because I wanted my family to be able to make it to my games to see me play. I think we’ll be able to attract more talent from our home state for that very reason.
-UTRGV Volleyball Student-Athlete Mackenzie Coates (Buda, Texas)
 Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is excited to welcome Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah as new members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).){kind=link}