New Member Joins
The Western Athletic Conference announced on Nov. 12 that the University of the Incarnate Word will be joining the WAC. Starting on July 1, 2022, UIW will join the WAC as a full member, and as the only member school to sponsor all 20 sports that the WAC sponsors. UIW is the largest Catholic school in Texas and one of the largest private universities in the state. After the addition of UIW, the WAC will have 14 teams.
Swim Highlights
The California Baptist University men’s and women’s swim teams swam to a decisive victory Nov. 13 against non-conference foe California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The Grand Canyon University Lopes lost on the men’s and women’s side to the United States Air Force Academy on Nov. 6. The New Mexico State University Aggies lost a non-conference meet against Southern Methodist University and won a meet against the University of North Texas on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13, respectively.
New Commissioner
The WAC announced on Nov. 4 that Brian Thornton will replace Jeff Hurd as the seventh commissioner of the conference. Jeff Hurd has served as WAC Commissioner for seven years, and will step down on Dec. 31. Thornton previously served as the associate commissioner for basketball for the prestigious American Athletic Conference. He also served as assistant director for basketball development for the National Collegiate Athletic Association prior to his tenure at the AAC. Thornton was a star basketball player for Xavier University, graduating in 2005.
