Utah Valley To Head West, doom WAC?

Google says that D.B Coulson once said: “The only thing that never changes is change itself.”

Not sure what his occupation is, but D.B. sounds like he would be a good fit in the world of college athletics.

In the modern day of college sports, change is more common than not, with players transferring to new schools at record rates, coaches riding the carousel at record speeds, and of course conference realignment/poaching more prevalent than ever before.

In the world of sports, If money is the driving force, expect breakneck speeds.

Take just the last half year into consideration and one would recall the Mountain West getting stripped of 5 teams to bolster the new iteration of the Pac-12 come 2026.

In doing so, the Mountain West had to lash out and steal a team from Conference-USA (UTEP) and the MAC. (NIU)

Through this year (2025) and next (2026) 11 teams are expected to shift conferences, and that number will likely grow.

And that’s just football.

In the world of Basketball, changes are being made at an equally rapid pace, some in line with the world of football (like Hawaii taking all sports to the Mountain West) and some are non-football schools taking advantage of open spots/new media deals.

In the next two seasons, we will see Gonzaga shunning the WCC for the new Pac-12, UC Davis and Grand Canyon University are taking their talents to the Mountain West, and Seattle will be filling the Gonzaga sized hole in the WCC.

For eagle eyed fans here in Utah, they’ll notice some of the schools on the move (GCU, Seattle) are currently playing in the Western Athletic Conference, home of three of Utah’s D1 Basketball Programs.

Utah Valley (2013), Utah Tech (2020) and Southern Utah University have all shared the conference since 2022 when SUU joined up.

For as cool as it’s been to see three rival schools in the state square off against each other twice a year, it could be coming to an end well before reaching it’s true potential.

Swept up in the mass of moves, Utah Valley alongside fellow WAC member Cal Baptist could reportedly have a new home come this Friday.

That day, the 28^th of February, members of the Big West conference are expected to vote on whether or not they should send an invite to the Wolverines and Lancers according to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.

If the invitation is universally agreed upon by the Big West and then consequentially accepted by UVU and Cal Baptist, the WAC will be left with a future total of 5 teams.

With Seattle leaving in 2025 and GCU certifiably gone in 2026, losing Utah Valley and Cal Baptist would leave Utah Tech, Southern Utah and a smattering of Texas schools in Abilene Christian, UT Arlington, and Tarleton State.

Although no invitation is guaranteed, reports like this just don’t come about for fun and this could impact the WAC in a major way if it goes down as advertised.

The WAC would need to add members by the time all the dearly departing take off, and who they could steal might be very limited.

Even if they have targets in mind, still existing members may abandon ship before a fallback plan is implemented.

Tarleton State has been showing interest in jumping to the FBS level of football for some time, and this could push them to find something sooner rather than later.

If the Texans did something like that it would take the basketball program with them to whatever conference they attend just like Kennesaw State or Sam Houston in the C-USA.

The Southland conference could come calling for some of the other Texas schools, specifically Abilene Christian who was a member for 8 years prior to moving to the WAC.

The Southland conference has already reabsorbed Stephen F. Austin and Lamar from the WAC after those team’s had left them for a short spell, proving they hold no grudges.

SUU’s old stomping grounds, the Summit League, could also be in the mix for a UT Arlington as a 10^th member, or even the two Utah schools could be on the radar.

A lot of people like to link Utah Tech and SUU to the Big Sky Conference if the WAC folds, and although it could be a reality one day, SUU and the Big Sky are still fresh off a divorce.

This all pure speculation, and rather worthless, until the Big West actually extends an invite and Utah Valley and CBU say “I do”.

Whatever happens remains to be seen, but like the back of a cereal box, everything that has unfolded can be traced back to the Pac-12 swooping in on the Mountain West.

Who it has affected and who it continues to affect is the new reality of college athletics and will continuously unfurl in real time.

If this becomes the next new reality of college hoops, Utah Valley will replace Hawaii as the only non-California team to play in the Big West.

California Baptist would be shifting conferences for the first time in their D1 history as they have been with the WAC since jumping to division 1 in 2018.

Utah Valley is currently leading the WAC standings in Men's hoops with a 20-7 overall record and a 12-1 conference record.

The WAC tournament, guaranteed at least two more times, will be held at the Orleans arena in Las Vegas, Nevada starting March 12^th.

As for now the current iteration of the WAC holds it’s breath and waits for Friday.