The Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Even though the WAC was founded in 1962, the annual tournament has only been held since 1984.
| WAC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference basketball championship | |
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Orleans Arena |
| Current location | Paradise, Nevada |
| Played | 1984–present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | Grand Canyon |
| Most championships | New Mexico State Aggies (10) |
| Official website | WACSports.com Men's Basketball |
The winner of the tournament is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA basketball tournament every year.
Format and host
editThe event has alternated between being hosted at campus sites and neutral sites throughout its history. From the inaugural event in 1984 until 1992 the regular season champion hosted the tournament, but in 1993 and 1994 the event was held at the Delta Center (now Vivint Arena) in Salt Lake City which, although located less than five miles from then-conference member Utah's campus, was considered a neutral site. From 1995 through 2009 the event returned to on-campus sites, although the location was awarded through a predetermined bidding process rather than being given to the regular-season champion. Since 2010 the tournament has again been held at a neutral site, namely Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Starting with the 2023 tournament, the WAC adopted a new seeding system based on advanced team metrics, developed in large part by statistical guru Ken Pomeroy. Tournament entry will still be based on conference record.[1]
Tournament results
editPerformance by school
edit| School | Championships | Years |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico State | 10 | 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 |
| UTEP | 5 | 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 2005 |
| Grand Canyon | 3 | 2021, 2023, 2024 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 1994, 2001, 2002 |
| Utah | 3 | 1995, 1997, 1999 |
| BYU | 2 | 1991, 1992 |
| Nevada | 2 | 2004, 2006 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 1993, 1996 |
| Utah State | 2 | 2009, 2011 |
| Wyoming | 2 | 1987, 1988 |
| Boise State | 1 | 2008 |
| Cal State Bakersfield | 1 | 2016 |
| Fresno State | 1 | 2000 |
| San Diego State | 1 | 1985 |
| Tulsa | 1 | 2003 |
| UNLV | 1 | 1998 |
| UT Arlington | 0 | |
| Abilene Christian | 0 | |
| Colorado State | 0 | |
| Idaho | 0 | |
| Louisiana Tech | 0 | |
| Seattle | 0 | |
| Southern Utah | 0 | |
| TCU | 0 |
- Schools highlighted in yellow are current members of the WAC.
- Among current WAC members, California Baptist, Stephen F. Austin, Utah Valley, and UTRGV have competed in at least one WAC tournament, but failed to reach the title game.
- Tarleton and Utah Tech have yet to play in a WAC tournament. Both started transitions from NCAA Division II to Division I in 2020, and are ineligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play until 2024–25. Current WAC rules allow transitional schools to play in the WAC tournament upon their arrival in the conference.
Broadcasters
editTelevision
edit| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984[2] | NBC | Charlie Jones | Dan Belluomini |
| 1985 | Lorimar Sports Network | Larry Zimmer | Irv Brown |
| 1990 | TSI Sports | Carl Arky | Irv Brown |
| 1992 | ESPN | Craig Bolerjack | Terry Holland |
| 2007[3] | ESPN2 | Terry Gannon | Stephen Bardo |
| 2008[4] | Dave Pasch | Michael Holton | |
| 2009[5] | Terry Gannon | Stephen Bardo | |
| 2010[6] | |||
| 2011 [7] | Dave Flemming | Sean Farnham | |
| 2012 [8] | |||
| 2013 [9] | ESPNU | Trey Bender | Stephen Howard |
| 2014 [10] | Steve Quis | Jon Crispin | |
| 2015 | Sean Harrington | ||
| 2016 | Dave Flemming | Malcolm Huckaby | |
| 2017 | Eric Rothman | Paul Biancardi | |
| 2018 | Kanoa Leahey | Corey Williams | |
| 2019 | Adrian Branch | ||
| 2020 | Dave Feldman | Corey Williams | |
| 2021 | Roxy Bernstein | Adrian Branch | |
| 2022 | Dave Flemming | Mike O'Donnell | |
| 2023 | ESPN2 | Dave Feldman | |
| 2024 |
Radio
edit| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010[11] | Westwood One | Dave Sims | Kyle Macy |
| 2011 | |||
| 2012 [12] | Dial Global Sports | Kevin Calabro | Tom Brennan |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "WAC Adopts Seeding System for Basketball Tournaments" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. July 15, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ http://the506.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1228172635[permanent dead link]
- ^ "What to Watch: College basketball lovers rejoice". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ "Farther off the Wall". Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ "20090226_ChampionshipWeekBeginsMarch5". Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ "Championship Week Begins Thursday, March 4 | ESPN MediaZone". Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2011/04/championship-week-begins-march-7/[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Championship Week: Coverage of a Record 137 Men's Games Begins March 1 | ESPN MediaZone". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "Championship Week Presented by DIck's Sporting Goods Schedule". 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Championship Week Presented by DIck's Sporting Goods Schedule". 5 March 2014.
- ^ http://the506.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1267859867;start=all[permanent dead link]
- ^ "WAC Championship Highlights: New Mexico State 82 – Louisiana Tech 57 | Dial Global Sports". Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.