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The conference added two more schools later in the 1960s, with [[Colorado State University]] and the [[University of Texas at El Paso]] (UTEP) arriving in 1967. The WAC's competitive balance, especially in football, became heavily skewed in the 1970s toward the Arizona schools due to rapid growth in that state, and they would leave in 1978 to expand the Pacific-8 Conference into the [[Pac-12 Conference|Pacific-10]]. [[San Diego State University]] joined at the time the two Arizona schools left; the [[University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]] (Hawaiʻi or UH) joined the following year, and the [[United States Air Force Academy]] (Air Force) arrived in 1980. The conference then remained stable for more than a decade, with the next change being the addition of [[California State University, Fresno]] (Fresno State) in 1992.
In 1996, the demise of the [[Southwest Conference]] (SWC) led to [[1996 NCAA conference realignment|a major conference realignment]]. The WAC took advantage of the changing landscape to expand to 16 members. Three SWC members left out of the soon-to-launch [[Big 12 Conference]]—[[Rice University]], [[Southern Methodist University]] (SMU), and [[Texas Christian University]] (TCU)—all joined the WAC, as did [[San Jose State University]] and the [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]] (UNLV) from the Big West, plus the [[University of Tulsa]], a [[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|Division I-A football independent]]<ref>From [[1978 NCAA Division I-A football season|1978]] through [[2005 NCAA Division I-A football season|2005]], the football grouping now known as Division I FBS was known as Division I-A.</ref> which had been a member of the non-football [[Missouri Valley Conference]].<ref name="Deinhart 2011-09-14">{{cite news |url=http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1264788 |title=WAC a cautionary tale for superconferences |first=Tom |last=Deinhart |work=[[Rivals.com]] |publisher=[[Yahoo! Sports]] |date=September 14, 2011 |accessdate=February 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928042810/http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1264788 |archive-date=2013-09-28 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref> However, ''[[CBSSports.com]]'' writer Matt Hinton would say in 2012 that the expansion "quickly divided the league between old members and new."<ref name="Hinton 2012-04-30">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/19837168/rip-wac-disintegrating-league-confirms-2012-football-season-will-be-its-last |title=RIP WAC: Disintegrating league confirms 2012 football season will be its last |first=Matt |last=Hinton |work=Eye on College Football |publisher=''[[CBSSports.com]]'' |date=August 20, 2012 |accessdate=February 10, 2013}}</ref> The league now spanned from [[Hawaii]] to [[Oklahoma]]—a distance of about {{convert|3900|mi}} and four time zones.<ref>[https://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.softball/browse_thread/thread/3f7c1ad8fc2a11e0/ede167b9f4f9ab2a?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=Western+Athletic+Conference+split#ede167b9f4f9ab2a WAC disbanding? – rec.sport.softball | Google Groups]. Groups.google.com.</ref><ref>http://www.thehrr.com/Samples/june%2798.pdf</ref> Originally, the league was divided into four "quads" with four members each, but this setup soon proved unsatisfactory to several members, most notably BYU and Utah, who proposed a permanent split into eight-team divisions in 1998.<ref name="Deinhart 2011-09-14"/> This proposal created further problems, because the geographic distribution of the 16 members meant that a clean north-south or east-west split was impossible. While New Mexico and UTEP agreed to move to a proposed East Division, Air Force and UNLV were unhappy; [[Karl Benson]], who was WAC commissioner during this period, recalled in 2011 that Air Force threatened to go independent.<ref name="Deinhart 2011-09-14"/> Soon, the presidents of Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Utah, and Wyoming, a group that Benson would later call the "Gang of Five", met at [[Denver International Airport]] and quickly decided to form a new league.<ref name="Deinhart 2011-09-14"/> They invited New Mexico, San Diego State, and UNLV to join them to form what would become the Mountain West Conference, which launched in 1999.<ref name="Deinhart 2011-09-14"/>
After this upheaval, the WAC saw further movement in the 2000s. In 2000, the [[University of Nevada, Reno]] (Nevada) joined from the Big West. A year later, the Big West dropped football. While four schools from that conference, all within the WAC's geographic footprint, wanted to continue in football, only [[Boise State University]] was invited at that time. [[Louisiana Tech University]], a Division I-A independent and otherwise a member of the [[Sun Belt Conference]], also joined in 2001, while TCU left for C-USA. The WAC saw further membership turnover in [[2005 NCAA conference realignment|2005]]. Rice, SMU, Tulsa, and UTEP left for C-USA, while the three former Big West football schools that had been left out of the 2001 expansion—Idaho, New Mexico State, and [[Utah State University]]—all joined.
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However, in the last days of April 2012, multiple media outlets indicated that six teams—three of which had not yet officially joined the conference—would shortly leave the WAC for other conferences. UTSA, which had yet to join the WAC, declared its intent to join Conference USA in 2013, with Louisiana Tech seen as likely to follow suit.<ref name="McMurphy 2012-04-28">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/brett-mcmurphy/18873583/c-usa-adding-utsa-in-2013-north-texas-fiu-louisiana-tech-also-likely |title=C-USA adding UTSA in 2013; North Texas, FIU, Louisiana Tech also likely |first=Brett |last=McMurphy |work=College Football Insider |publisher=''CBSSports.com'' |date=April 28, 2012 |accessdate=May 1, 2012}}</ref> [[Utah State Aggies|Utah State]] and [[San Jose State Spartans|San Jose State]] declared their intent to join the Mountain West Conference in 2013.<ref name="Report: Utah St., SJSU to join MWC">{{cite web |url=http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7871430/utah-state-aggies-san-jose-state-spartans-join-mountain-west-conference-according-report |title=Report: Utah St., SJSU to join MWC - ESPN |author=ESPN.com News Services|date=April 30, 2012 |publisher=ESPN.com |accessdate=April 30, 2012 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref> Another report indicated that Texas State and UT-Arlington, which were set to join the WAC alongside UTSA in 2012, would leave for the Sun Belt Conference effective in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/brett-mcmurphy/18911274/texas-state-ut-arlington-to-sun-belt-in-2013 |title=Texas State, UT-Arlington to Sun Belt in 2013 |first=Brett |last=McMurphy |work=College Football Insider |publisher=''CBSSports.com'' |date=April 30, 2012 |accessdate=May 1, 2012}}</ref> This would leave the WAC with only 5 full members, 2 football and 3 non-football.
The first of these schools to make its departure official was Texas State, which announced its move to the Sun Belt on May 2.<ref name="Texas State to SBC">{{cite press release | url = http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=205422758 | title = Texas State to Join Sun Belt Conference | publisher = Sun Belt Conference | accessdate = 2012-05-02 | last = | first = | date = 2012-05-02 | work = Sun Belt Conference | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120512045549/http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=205422758 | archive-date = 2012-05-12 | dead-url = yes | df = }}</ref> Two days later, Louisiana Tech and UTSA accepted invitations from C-USA, and San Jose State and Utah State announced their departure for the Mountain West.<ref name="McMurphy 2012-05-03">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/brett-mcmurphy/18954539 |title=7 schools on move Friday; ODU remains undecided |first=Brett |last=McMurphy |work=College Football Insider |publisher=''CBSSports.com'' |date=May 3, 2012 |accessdate=May 3, 2012}}</ref>
Due to the Western Athletic Conference being "raided" by the Mountain West Conference, Conference USA, and the Sun Belt Conference, it was initially unknown what path the WAC would take. After these moves, the WAC was down to only two football programs for the 2013 season – [[New Mexico State Aggies football|New Mexico State University]] and the [[Idaho Vandals football|University of Idaho]]. Since the WAC was not be able to sponsor football for the 2013 season (eight teams are needed for a conference to sponsor football at the FBS level); NMSU and Idaho became [[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|FBS independents]] for the 2013 season before becoming football-only members of the Sun Belt in 2014.
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{{Location map~ | USA | label=Utah Valley | position=bottom | mark=Yellow pog.svg | link=Utah Valley Wolverines | lat=40.29875 | long=-111.69649}}
}}
The WAC seemingly secured its continued existence as a non-football conference, at least for the time being, when it announced on October 9, 2012 that [[California State University, Bakersfield]] and [[Utah Valley University]] would join the conference starting with the 2013–14 school year. [[Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners|Cal State Bakersfield]] had previously been [[NCAA Division I independent schools (basketball)|independent]], and had become a WAC affiliate in baseball for 2012–13. [[Utah Valley Wolverines|Utah Valley]] joins from the [[Great West Conference]].<ref name="WAC 2012-10-09">{{cite press release |url=http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205708247 |title=WAC Adds CSUB and UVU To Its Membership |publisher=Western Athletic Conference |date=October 9, 2012 |accessdate=October 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011005650/http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205708247 |archive-date=2012-10-11 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref> Interim WAC commissioner Jeff Hurd added that the WAC was seeking to add further schools, with an immediate goal of eight members and a longer-term goal of 10.<ref name="AP WAC additions">{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/basketball/ncaa/10/09/WAC-Cal-Bakersfield-Utah-Valley.ap/index.html |title=WAC adds Cal State-Bakersfield, Utah Valley |author=Associated Press |publisher=''Sports Illustrated'' |date=October 9, 2012 |accessdate=October 13, 2012}}</ref> However, Hurd's job became more difficult on October 19 when Idaho announced it would move its non-football sports to the [[Big Sky Conference]] in July 2014.<ref name="Idaho back to Big Sky">{{cite press release|url=http://bigskyconf.com/news/2012/10/19/GEN_1019120821.aspx |title=Idaho To Return in 2014 |publisher=Big Sky Conference |date=October 19, 2012 |accessdate=October 21, 2012}}</ref> In addition, Denver announced it was joining The Summit League in 2013. The WAC countered this move with inviting Division II [[Grand Canyon University]] to join the conference, who accepted.<ref name="WAC adds Grand Canyon University">{{cite press release|url=http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8683850/troubled-wac-loses-denver-adds-grand-canyon |title=WAC adds Grand Canyon University |publisher=ESPN |date=November 27, 2012 |accessdate=November 28, 2012}}</ref> The conference added another member from the disintegrating Great West on December 5, announcing the 2013 arrival of [[Chicago State University]].<ref name="Chicago State to WAC">{{cite press release|url=http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205820763 |title=Chicago State University to Join WAC |publisher=Western Athletic Conference |date=December 5, 2012 |accessdate=December 6, 2012}}</ref> An invitation has also been extended to the Great West's [[University of Texas-Pan American]], which was accepted on December 19.<ref>{{cite web|title=UTPA to go to board Dec. 18 for WAC invite|url=http://www.themonitor.com/sports/utpa_broncs/article_dd461af2-3f4c-11e2-a0d2-0019bb30f31a.html|work=The Monitor|accessdate=December 8, 2012|date=December 5, 2012}}</ref><ref name="UTPA to WAC">http://www.utpabroncs.com/news/2012/12/19/GEN_1219125815.aspx</ref>
By adding these last Great West Conference schools the WAC was able to return to seven schools, which under current NCAA rules a Division I conference that drops below seven members must do within two years to avoid losing its automatic bids to the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments.<ref name="AP WAC additions"/> Then, on February 7, 2013, the [[University of Missouri-Kansas City]] announced that it had accepted an invitation to join the WAC, bringing the membership to nine for 2013-14 and eight after Idaho departs.<ref>http://www.umkckangaroos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=89995&SPID=10799&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=20631</ref>
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| [[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
| {{dts|May 2, 2012}}
| {{dts|2013}}<ref name="Texas State to SBC">{{cite press release | url = http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=205422758 | title = Texas State to Join Sun Belt Conference | publisher = Sun Belt Conference | accessdate = 2012-05-02 | last = | first = | date = 2012-05-02 | work = Sun Belt Conference | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120512045549/http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4100&ATCLID=205422758 | archive-date = 2012-05-12 | dead-url = yes | df = }}</ref>
|-
| [[Louisiana Tech University|Louisiana Tech]] [[Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters|Bulldogs and Lady Techsters]]
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| '''WAC'''
| {{dts|October 9, 2012}}
| {{dts|2013}}<ref name="WAC 2012-10-09">{{cite press release |url=http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205708247 |title=WAC Adds CSUB and UVU To Its Membership |publisher=Western Athletic Conference |date=October 9, 2012 |accessdate=October 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011005650/http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205708247 |archive-date=2012-10-11 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref>
|-
| [[California State University, Bakersfield|CSU Bakersfield]] [[CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners|Roadrunners]]
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| '''WAC'''
| {{dts|November 27, 2012}}
| {{dts|2013}}<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205781174 |title=Grand Canyon University to Join WAC |publisher=Western Athletic Conference |date=November 27, 2012 |accessdate=November 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130002023/http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205781174 |archive-date=2012-11-30 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref>
|-
| [[Chicago State University|Chicago State]] [[Chicago State Cougars|Cougars]]
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| '''WAC'''
| {{dts|January 9, 2013}}
| {{dts|2013}}<ref name="WAC men's soccer">{{cite press release |url=http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205894860 |title=WAC Adds Men's Soccer |publisher=Western Athletic Conference |date=January 9, 2013 |accessdate=April 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119075534/http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=205894860 |archive-date=2013-01-19 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref>
|-
| [[California State University, Bakersfield|CSU Bakersfield]] [[Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners men's soccer|Roadrunners]]
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