History of Western Athletic Conference football

Progression of WAC football
On July 27th, 1962 The Western Athletic Conference was officially started. The first WAC commissioner was Paul Brechler. The conference's original teams consisted of, , University of Utah, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and the University of Wyoming. In 1967, two more teams were added they were UTEP and Colorado State University.
Early dominance of Arizona and BYU
From 1969 to 1978 Arizona schools won the WAC football championships every year except 1974 and 1976. From 1977 through 1985 BYU won every year. During this impressive run BYU won the national championship in 1984. They beat unranked Michigan in the Holiday Bowl 24-17 to finish their season with 13 wins and 0 losses. It is the only WAC national championship for football to date.
Late 1970s through early 1990s
In 1977, both San Diego State University and Hawaii were both extended membership into the WAC. Followed shortly after by the United States Air Force Academy in 1979. The next team to Join the Wac was Fresno State University in 1991.
Progression under Karl Benson
On April 20th, 1994 Karl Benson was named WAC commissioner. He still holds that position. He is viewed as the commissioner that has brought the WAC as far as it has come. Five years after Benson was named commissioner The United States Air Force Academy, Brigham Young University, Colorado State University, University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of New Mexico, San Diego State University, University of Utah, and The University of Wyoming all moved out of the WAC. In 2000 Nevada officially joined the Wac. They were followed by Boise State University and Louisiana Tech University in 2001. 2001 is the same year that Texas Christian University officially left the WAC.
Four short years later the WAC welcomed three new teams; New Mexico State University, Utah State University, and the University of Idaho. On January 1st, 2007 the Boise State Broncos went to the Tostitios Fiesta Bowl and beat the then ranked number seventh Oklahoma Sooners. That was the first BCS bowl game played by a WAC team. BSU won the game 43-42 in overtime. They were followed the next year by the University of Hawaii who lost in the Sugar Bowl against the University of Georgia. The WAC has the highest winning percentage out of all of the college football conferences. The WAC's all time record in bowl games is 32-24-2, or a winning percentage of nearly 57% in bowl games.

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