Finally: a win for swimming in the murky world of college athletics.
Today, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) announced that they would resume sponsorship of men’s swimming beginning with the 2013-2014 season, meaning that 2014 will see a WAC men’s team crowned as champions for the first time since 2000.
After all of the realignment dust settles, three full-time WAC member schools will sponsor men’s swimming: CSU-Bakersfield, Seattle, and Grand Canyon in their first season of Division I swimming.
The conference will also include four affiliate members: Air Force, UNLV, North Dakota, and Wyoming, making a sturdy 7-member conference.
“We are excited about the reinstatement of men’s swimming and diving to the Western Athletic Conference,” said Jeff Hurd, WAC Interim Commissioner. “We look forward to one of our original sports returning to the WAC and watching these teams work toward winning a conference championship.”
The championship will be reborn in late February at the Palo Alto College Aquatic Center in San Antonio.
The addition of two new full-time mebers next year who sponsor the sport is likely what spurred the move, as CSU-Bakersfield and Grand Canyon will join Seattle. All of the members of the conference, aside from Grand Canyon, had been in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. That conference, barring other moves, will still be left with three members: BYU, Hawaii, and Pacific. Denver will join the Summit League.
The all-time WAC team championship record book doesn’t include any members of the reformed group of 7, though Wyoming, Air Force, and UNLV all competed in the conference at one point.
All time WAC Team Champions:
Utah – 22
Arizona – 4
SMU – 4
BYU – 3
Hawaii – 2
New Mexico – 2
Colorado State – 1
1962-63: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1963-64: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1964-65: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1965-66: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1966-67: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1967-68: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1968-69: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1969-70: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1970-71: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1971-72: Colorado State-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1972-73: New Mexico-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1973-74: Brigham Young-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1974-75: Arizona-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1975-76: Arizona-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1976-77: Arizona-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1977-78: Arizona-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1978-79: Brigham Young-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1979-80: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1980-81: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1981-82: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1982-83: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1983-84: Hawaii-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1984-85: Hawaii-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1985-86: New Mexico-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1986-87: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1987-88: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1988-89: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1989-90: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1990-91: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1991-92: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1992-93: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1993-94: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1994-95: Utah-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1995-96: Brigham Young-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1996-97: SMU-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1997-98: SMU-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1998-99: SMU-Men’s Swimming & Diving
1999-00: SMU-Men’s Swimming & Diving
Lol, I’d flee the MPSF too afterpicking the East Los Angeles Community College (ELAC) pool for their championship meet – TWICE. They didn’t learn the first time around?
So what are BYU, Hawaii, and Pacific going to do? I don’t see any other available division I teams anywhere else in the Pacific or Mountain time zones, unless the “affiliated” PAC 12 teams Cal Poly SLO and UCSB were to join MPSF.
MPSF will be down to 3 schools as Denver is moving to the Summit League.