The Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

(WAC). Even though the WAC was founded in 1962, the annual tournament has only been held since 1984. The winner of the tournament is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA basketball tournament every year.

Format and host

The event has alternated between being hosted at campus sites and neutral sites throughout its history. From the inaugural event in 1984 until 1992 the regular season champion hosted the tournament, but in 1993 and 1994 the event was held at the Delta Center (now

Vivint Arena Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Assoc ...

) in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

which, although located less than five miles from then-conference member

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

's campus, was considered a neutral site. From 1995 through 2009 the event returned to on-campus sites, although the location was awarded through a predetermined bidding process rather than being given to the regular-season champion. Since 2010 the tournament has again been held at a neutral site, namely

Orleans Arena Orleans Arena is a 9,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Paradise, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. It is located at the Orleans Hotel and Casino and is operated by Coast Casinos, a subsidiary of Boyd Gaming Corporation. The arena is the home t ...

in Paradise, Nevada. Starting with the 2023 tournament, the WAC adopted a new seeding system based on advanced team metrics, developed in large part by statistical guru Ken Pomeroy. Tournament entry will still be based on conference record.

Tournament results

Performance by school

* Schools highlighted in yellow are members of the WAC as of the current 2022–23 season. * Among current WAC members, five have competed in at least one WAC tournament but failed to reach the title game: California Baptist, Sam Houston,

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

Utah Valley Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, and UTRGV. The 2022–23 season is the first in which California Baptist is eligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play. * Two other members,

Tarleton Tarleton is a village and civil parish in the borough of West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. It situated in the Lancashire mosslands approximately 10 miles north east of Southport, approximately 10 miles south west of Preston, approximately ...

and Utah Tech (renamed from Dixie State before the 2022–23 season), have yet to play in a WAC tournament. Both started transitions from NCAA Division II to Division I in 2020, and are ineligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play until 2024–25. Current WAC rules allow transitional schools to play in the WAC tournament upon their arrival in the conference, but before 2022–23 such schools were ineligible until their third transitional seasons. Both can play in the 2023 WAC tournament should they qualify. * Southern Utah is playing its first WAC season in 2022–23. *

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

and Sam Houston will leave the WAC for Conference USA after the 2022–23 season.

Broadcasters

Television

Radio

References

{{NCAA men's college basketball tournament navbox Recurring sporting events established in 1984