WAC Board Mandates Conference Championship Changes
Changes for future WAC Championships were announced today.
Denver, Colo.-----At its annual spring meeting, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Board of Directors approved a reduction in field size for many of its team championships and announced a neutral site for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 WAC Baseball Championship.
The reduction in field size for a conference championship affects the Spartans in the sports of men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and women’s tennis. In 2008-09, all nine conference members participated in these respective WAC Championships. Going forward, the women’s volleyball and women’s tennis will be six-team championships and the basketball tournaments will be an eight-team bracket by discarding the play-in game. The Board action does not affect the sports of baseball and women’s soccer that already has a six-team championship tournament in place.
The Board also approved HoHoKam Park in Mesa, Arizona, as the site of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 baseball championship.
“The financial landscape of college athletics is such that the WAC Board of Directors demonstrated its leadership by approving several Conference-wide cost reductions that will provide immediate relief to our member institutions,” said WAC commissioner Karl Benson. “The conference office staff recognizes the severe financial challenges on all of our campuses and will continue to be committed to looking for ways to contain and decrease costs while maintaining the level of service to the membership which we believe is critical to being a viable Division I conference.”