The Western Athletic Conference, or the WAC, is comprised of nine member schools as of 2010. The teams compete annually in a conference championship volleyball tournament which determines the league's tournament champion and automatic bid to the NCAA postseason volleyball tournament. This tournament is closely contested and usually comes down to the wire.
History of Volleyball Programs
The WAC schools that compete in the WAC Volleyball Tournament include Boise State, Hawaii, Nevada, Louisiana Tech, Idaho, Fresno State, Utah State, New Mexico State and San Jose State. The level of competitiveness in volleyball is usually cyclical with no one team dominating the tournament history. WAC officials, as well as the rest of the NCAA, concur that the volleyball is played at a high level. Historically, the WAC's automatic qualifier has represented the conference well at the national tournament.
First Three WAC Tournaments
The first WAC Volleyball Tournament was contested in 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hawaii earned the tournament's No. 1 seed through outstanding regular season play, but was upset by then-member Brigham Young University in a five-set thriller in the tournament final. The tournament saw a repeat of that final match -- and final result -- in 1997 before Hawaii broke through to win the 1998 edition. Those three years saw the tournament contested in Las Vegas before going on a three year hiatus.
Return to Competition
After three years of not contesting a post season tournament, the WAC Volleyball Tournament returned to the schedule in 2001, this time contested in San Jose. Hawaii won its second consecutive tournament championship by defeating San Jose State in the final. However, attendance was dismal -- the 2001 tournament averaged just 481 fans for nine matches after the tournaments in Las Vegas were drawing well over 2,000 fans per game -- and the tournament moved back to Reno, Nevada.
Modern Years
The WAC Tournament spent four years in Reno before one season in Las Cruces, New Mexico, then a season in Hawaii, and then returning to Las Vegas for the 2009 edition. The tournament did see a spike in attendance upon its return to Las Vegas. Over the years, Hawaii has clearly emerged as the dominant team, competing in all 12 tournament and compiling a 33-2 overall record with 10 tournament championships. Remarkably, the only WAC Tournaments Hawaii lost were the first two editions to Brigham Young.
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