Utah Valley, Cal State-Bakersfield Join WAC; What About Idaho? - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

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Utah Valley, Cal State-Bakersfield Join WAC; What About Idaho?

Updated:
by Jared Frank, KHQ.com/SWXRightNow.com - email

Like it or not, Vandal fans, the Western Athletic Conference will not have football next year. But they will have a couple of more basketball teams to add to the mix.

Utah Valley and Cal State-Bakersfield will be members of the ailing conference in 2013-14 as it makes its transition away from an FBS organization.

Cal State-Bakersfield was a Division I independent last season. As of 2013, 15 of the school's 18 sports will be joining the WAC, including men's and women's basketball.

Utah Valley, from Provo, Utah is currently a member of the Great West Conference. The school will bring 14 of its 15 programs to the conference. Utah Valley was the first school to jump directly from junior college status to Division I.

 

Will Idaho Stay?

The Idaho Statesman reported that even with the WAC's efforts to add more teams to the fold, the Idaho Vandals may eventually leave.

Interim commissioner Jeff Hurd told the newspaper:

"Relative to Idaho, we do not have assurances that Idaho will be part of the WAC long term," Hurd said. "I have to work under the assumption that Idaho is a WAC member and, until we are told differently, that's how we will proceed."

It has been no secret the Vandals have been looking at other options - the Big Sky Conference being one of those possibilities. Commissioner Doug Fullerton reportedly went as far as to say the Vandals would join the league in the 2014-15 season after they spend a year in football independence because of financial reasons.