Is the WAC Really All That?

If you're buying what this guy's selling, perhaps I can interest you in some ocean front property....yeah, the Golden Gate Bridge is just around the corner there, Padnah.


Evidently, the Western Athletic Conference is the nation's premier mid-major conference, so sayeth SI's Corey McCartney. But it just strikes me more as offseason shock value more than anything. Yes, I'll give Boise State's Fiesta Bowl win and great season as something to crow about. Hawaii under June Jones has been entertaining, to say the least. I love Chris Ault's Nevada squad and his innovative "Pistol" set has been the best thing to happen around Lake Tahoe since Reno 911 hit Comedy Central.

The bottom line is this conference champ is,at best, the equivalent of the The Geek (greatness played by The Dead Zone's Anthony Michael Hall) from Sixteen Candles. Simply put, he's the coolest of the dorks (or the dorkiest of the cool kids, depending on if you're a glass half-empty/half-full guy). Harsh statement, but it holds water.

Let's look at the top of the league:

• Boise State's Fiesta Bowl win and recent record is impressive, but if you sit back and ask yourself and be truthful-- you know the Broncos wouldn't have been in that place if they played week-in/week-out in the Big XII or even the Big East. Case in point, BSU has the NCAA's best record since 1999 at 86-16 (84% winning percentage). But over that same timespan, the Broncos' records again BCS teams is a 6-11 (or 35%).
• Fresno State: a record of 10-15 vs the Big Boys (40%) but only 1 losing season since '99. Pat Hill's squad is fearless and will happily go on the road and challenge, but last season was a hard smack in the face.
• Hawaii- a record of 6-10 against Power Conferences (37%), but all of the wins have been in the islands- which combined with the time change, travel issues and other distractions turns into a huge home field advantage
• Nevada- 2 winning seasons since 1999 and a record vs the BCS of 2-7 (22%)
• Louisiana Tech- 3-23 (11.5%) vs BCS conferences and 4 losing seasons since '99 (playing an independent schedule in '99)

What does this mean? Well, just like members of the media snipe at BCS schools playing a weak non-conference schedule (see Kansas State in the 1990s, Auburn's 2004 13-0 Non-National Title team), these teams have played a weak conference schedule and sometimes, even a weak non-conference schedule (over the 1999-2006 schedule, these teams have played a cumulative total of 24 games against D-IAA or lower division teams). Anytime they go up against a team of merit, they get put in their place. I'm willing to give Fresno State its due, the last year was harsh. But over the past 15 years the Bulldogs have held their own--primarily on the road, no less--yet because of last year, no one wants to talk about them.

Keep in mind not one of the original charter members (BYU, Utah, Arizona State, Arizona, Wyoming and New Mexico) remain in the conference. Hawaii, which joined in 1978, is the longest serving member of the league. The league once tried to be a super conference--expanding all the way to 16 teams--only to see it implode and lose BYU, Utah, New Mexico, Air Force, San Diego State, Colorado State and UNLV to the newly formed Mountain West and see the upstart Conference USA grab UTEP, SMU, Rice, Tulsa and TCU (who subsequently left C-USA for the Mountain West). The fall out of this was simple- the WAC was left to scramble for the remaining pieces- Hawaii, Fresno State and San Jose State grabbed Nevada-Reno, Louisiana Tech and Boise State at the end of the millennium. Next they grabbed Idaho, Utah State and New Mexico State in 2005. The only major media market is the Bay Area with San Jose State and only one school has a stadium with a capacity over 50,000. The league stretches from Northern Louisiana over 6 time zones to Honolulu.
= ?

Odd man out because of geography/time zone/travel costs, Hawaii's the biggest name in this story, but kinda like Screech in the whole 'Saved By the Bell' world. Here he is growing up with Zach, A.C and Kelly Kapowksi at Bayside, then leaving for college and now eerily he won't go away and is part of 'Saved By the Bell: The New Class". Basically, the other folks all left for better places (Kelly for 90210, AC for Dancing with the Stars, Jesse for Showgirls/ Arizona and ASU for the Pac-10; BYU, UNLV, Utah, TCU for the Mountain West; SMU, Rice, UTEP, Tulsa for C-USA) and now the Rainbow Warriors are stuck cobbling together the best of the old Sunbelt and Big West conferences-- the former considered one of the poorest D-I conferences and the latter doesn't sponsor football anymore.

To argue that this is now the best mid-major conference (other than the Mountain West, C-USA, the MAC, the Sunbelt and, too a degree, the remaining D-IA independents) is the football equivalent of making chicken salad out of chicken droppings.