WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
WAC Men's Basketball Tournament | |
---|---|
Conference Basketball Championship | |
Sport | College basketball |
Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
Number of teams | 8 |
Format | Single-elimination tournament |
Current stadium | Orleans Arena |
Current location | Paradise, Nevada |
Played | 1984–present |
Last contest | 2017 |
Current champion | New Mexico State |
Most championships | New Mexico State Aggies (7) |
Official website | WACSports.com Men's Basketball |
The Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Even though the WAC was founded in 1964, 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 in Salt Lake City which, although located less than five miles from then-conference member Utah'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, the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Tournament results
Performance by school
School | Finals Record | Finals Appearances | Title Years |
---|---|---|---|
New Mexico State | 8–2 | 10 | 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 |
UTEP | 5–5 | 10 | 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 2005 |
Hawaii | 3–2 | 5 | 1994, 2001, 2002 |
Utah | 3–2 | 5 | 1995, 1997, 1999 |
Utah State | 2–3 | 5 | 2009, 2011 |
Nevada | 2–2 | 4 | 2004, 2006 |
New Mexico | 2–4 | 6 | 1993, 1996 |
BYU | 2–1 | 3 | 1991, 1992 |
Wyoming | 2–1 | 3 | 1987, 1988 |
Cal State Bakersfield | 1–1 | 2 | 2016 |
Boise State | 1–2 | 3 | 2008 |
Tulsa | 1–3 | 4 | 2003 |
Fresno State | 1–0 | 1 | 2000 |
UNLV | 1–0 | 1 | 1998 |
San Diego State | 1–0 | 1 | 1985 |
Colorado State | 0–1 | 1 | |
Grand Canyon | 0–1 | 1 | |
Idaho | 0–1 | 1 | |
Louisiana Tech | 0–1 | 1 | |
Seattle | 0–1 | 1 | |
TCU | 0–1 | 1 | |
Texas–Arlington | 0–1 | 1 |
- Schools highlighted in yellow are current members of the WAC