The Western Athletic Conference apparently will grow from 10 to 16 teams.
Brigham Young University officials confirmed this morning a report by The Dallas Morning News in its edition today that the WAC will become a 16-team league spread across four time zones.And BYU President Rex E. Lee also stated that the WAC presidents also selected Karl Benson to be the new commissioner of the WAC, replacing Joe Kearney, who is retiring.
Southern Methodist, Texas Christian and Rice universities - three of four Southwest Conference schools left out of the Big Eight's expansion - will be joined by Tulsa, an independent in football and a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in basketball, and Big West schools Nevada-Las Vegas and San Jose State.
The league will be divided into two eight-team divisions with the four Texas schools-- the three from the Southwest Conference and the University of Texas at El Paso-- joining Tulsa, Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming in the East and BYU, Utah, Hawaii, San Diego State, Fresno State, UNLV, San Jose State and New Mexico forming the western division.
"BYU is delighted with the prospects of a strengthened and enlarged Western Athletic Conference and with the appointment of a promising new commissioner," Lee said. "Some of the details of our new arrangements are yet to be worked out, but our intent is to expand the influence and appeal of the WAC by adding new institutions that are committed strongly both to academics and to athletic achievement."
Sources told the Deseret News that the SWC schools conducted an extensive lobbying campaign, with SMU, for example, committing to moving its football games from its tiny on-campus stadium that holds less than 24,000 people to the Cotton Bowl.
Football competition won't begin until 1996 because of the College Football Association TV contract but competition in other sports will likely take place in 1995.
The three SWC schools and Tulsa are all private institutions. Brigham Young University is currently the only private institution in the WAC and also the only religious institution in the conference. Southern Methodist and Texas Christian will put the number of religious institutions to three.
While the SWC schools' sports fortunes have declined in recent years, they have excellent academic credentials.
The WAC is taking a gamble that it can bring the large Texas television markets - Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth into play by admitting the SWC members. The Big Eight determined it could do that by adding Texas and Texas A&M, the SWC's flagship schools. It was that action a couple of months ago (Baylor and Texas Tech were also included) that sent the rest of the SWC schools scrambling for a new home. Only Houston remains without a new conference. The Cougars indicated they were not interested in becoming part of the new WAC.
Nine of 10 WAC presidents met Sunday in Salt Lake City, where they discussed expansion and interviewed three finalists for the league commissioner's job.
Leading candidate Steve Hatchell, commissioner of the Southwest Conference, withdrew his name last week. A source told the Deseret News that it's likely Hatchell would become involved with the new Big Eight and eventually succeed Carl James as Big Eight commissioner.
New commissioner Benson, 42, has ties to the West. He grew up in Spokane, Wash., attended Boise State University, and did master's degree work at the University of Utah.
"The three (SWC) institutions bring a lot to the Western Athletic Conference should they get in," SWC commissioner Steve Hatchell told The Dallas Morning News.
UNLV and San Jose State would drop out of the Big West, and Tulsa, a I-A independent in football, would leave the Missouri Valley Conference in basketball and other sports.
The WAC will become the largest Division I-A conference in NCAA history and it stretches the league from Hawaii to Tulsa, Okla., with teams in the Hawaiian, Pacific, Mountain and Central time zones.
According to The Dallas Morning News, SMU president Kenneth Pye and athletic director Forrest Gregg traveled with several board of trustee members last week to WAC schools Wyoming, Air Force and Utah to present their school's case for joining the WAC.
"Our goal - what we're working toward - is to get into the WAC," Gregg said. "I think we convinced the WAC we are truly seeking membership," Gregg said. "We feel good about the conference, and we feel we can make a contribution."
Pye said he has spoken with representatives of every WAC school except Hawaii.
"I am not optimistic or pessimistic," he said. "If I were the WAC, I would find SMU attractive. It would give them four time zones and potential access to the Alamo Bowl (in San Antonio).
"We talked to them about all the schools in the SWC," he said. "We would like to be in a conference where we are familiar with schools."
TCU athletic director Frank Windegger has been a strong proponent of the Horned Frogs' going to the WAC. Rice athletic director Bobby May said he knew of no decision by the WAC, but added that Rice is interested.
WAC realignment
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Western Division
BYU
Utah
Hawaii
San Diego State
Fresno State
UNLV
San Jose State
New Mexico
Eastern Division
Air Force
Colorado State
Wyoming
Tulsa
UTEP
SMU
Rice
TCU