College football might be returning to the WAC in the next year or two as expansion talks heat up. All indicators are pointing to a major expansion that features five new members to create a Football Championship Subdivision conference.
Extra Points publisher Matt Brown has been all over the expansion talks. And on Monday, Brown put out a tweet that has created quite a stir.
Hearing that the WAC's official additions of Southern Utah, Sam Houston State, Lamar, Abilene Christian and Stephen F Austin will be finalized in the next two-ish weeks.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) December 7, 2020
On Monday evening, sources confirmed to WAC Hoops Digest that this expansion is indeed in the works. Other sources said that Southern Utah to the WAC is a done deal. There are some issues, however, with the four Texas schools.
According to sources, the four Texas schools will only join if the WAC has enough teams to have an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. In order for this to happen, the WAC has to find an eighth school that is eligible immediately. As it stands, a WAC football conference would have seven teams with two of those teams, Tarleton State and Dixie State, not eligible for the FCS playoffs. In order for a conference to have an automatic bid, it needs to have six eligible teams.
So, if the WAC doesn’t have six eligible teams, the Texas schools won’t jump from the Southland, which does have an automatic bid.
On Tuesday morning, Spectrum News/USA Today writer Chris Kwiecinski tweeted this about Southern Utah.
Some new SUU news about a move to another conference is coming right now. Stay tuned.
— Chris Kwiecinski (@OchoK_) December 8, 2020
This story will be updated when more news comes out.
How Expansion Impacts WAC Hoops
This is simple. It gives the WAC more footing on a national landscape while adding quality teams. Three of those potentially new members sit in the top-200 of KenPom rankings. Stephen F. Austin upset top-ranked Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2019. There is more credibility and more opportunity to garner some respect for the WAC. Here is what Las Cruces Sun News reporter Justin Martinez tweeted out on Monday.
KenPom Rankings for each team:
Abilene Christian: 125
Stephen F. Austin: 151
Southern Utah: 183
Lamar: 281
Sam Houston State: 312Definitely would be some quality additions. https://t.co/J74K3nzfhe
— Justin Martinez (@JTheSportsDude) December 7, 2020
Again, this story will be updated as more information becomes available.
UPDATE
According to Spectrum News/USA Today writer Chris Kwiecinski, Southern Utah has received an official offer to join the WAC.
New: Southern Utah has officially gotten a WAC offer, and now the program has a decision to make.
A quick story, that I will update later with more information: https://t.co/oPN93jA9tn
— Chris Kwiecinski (@OchoK_) December 8, 2020
“We have received an official invitation from the Western Athletic Conference yesterday,” SUU Athletics said in a written statement to The Spectrum. “We have not made a final decision, but are seriously considering it.”
The big hurdle is ensuring that the WAC will sponsor football. But, it’s official that SUU is in the mix to join the WAC.
UPDATE – Texas Schools Set to Join the WAC
News just keeps coming and this time it is from Shehan Jeyarajah who puts out the tweet below.
NEW: Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar and Abilene Christian are expected to join the WAC, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed to @dctfCFB. https://t.co/Jlbj0m8HXr
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) December 10, 2020
In the article, Jeyarajah has this to say.
“There are still a number of moving parts that need to be worked out. No invitations have been officially accepted at this time, but decisions are expected in the next two weeks. No timeline has been set on when these schools would officially join the conference.”
It is yet to be determined if the WAC will become an FCS conference or a FBS conference. If the WAC does become an FBS conference, New Mexico State could be that eighth member.
UPDATE – Stephen F. Austin Board of Regents Approves Move to WAC – Dec. 17, 2020
The expansion of the WAC continues to move forward. Caleb Beames reports that the Stephen F. Austin administration recommends a move to the WAC and that the Board of Regents approves the recommendation.
BREAKING- SFA administration recommends that @SFA_Athletics would move to the @WACsports starting July 2,2022. @SFAPresGordon would negotiate the terms with the WAC. Board of regents approves the recommendation.
— Caleb Beames (@CalebKTRE) December 17, 2020
Again, this story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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