We told you about Seattle University and Grand Canyon University’s exit from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to join the West Coast Conference (WCC). Their departures dropped the WAC to nine members. Recent moves may lead to the ultimate collapse of DU’s former conference (2012–13).

In March, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) announced its intention to move all sports (including football) from the WAC & ASUN  to the Southland Conference (SLC) for a much tighter geographic footprint. Joining the Southland Conference will reduce the Vaqueros’ conference travel miles by half, from 22,970 to 9,448 miles annually. Last week, Stephen F. Austin announced their intention to flee to the Southland Conference.

The remaining three Texas WAC football schools (UT Arlington, Abilene Christian, and Tarleton State) may also be eyeing a jump to the Southland Conference or the Atlantic Sun (ASUN). That leaves the three northern-tier Utah-based WAC members along with California Baptist University (CBU) looking at alternative conference options. Southern Utah University (with a football program) is likely eyeing the Big Sky Conference for football and all its other sports.

Utah Valley and Utah Tech, the former without football, are either looking for a landing spot in the Big Sky or perhaps the non-football Summit League with Valley placing their football program in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The addition of more baseball and soccer-playing members would stabilize the Summit Leagues membership in those sports and retain the NCAA auto qualifier without the need for more associate members. That likely leaves California Baptist in Riverside, California looking for a West Coast Conference landing spot.

There are scenarios where the WAC cobbles together membership to remain viable. However, that reality appears more unlikely in light of recent events.

Unconfirmed rumors continue to swirl about Northern Colorado moving from the Big Sky to the Summit League (the Bears are already an affiliate in the Summit League for baseball, where they lost to Oral Roberts in the conference championship). Then there is the possible addition of football to the Summit League as a sponsored sport or UNC might move their football program to the MVFC. With Missouri State leaving the MVFC, funnily enough, there are no Missouri teams left in the conference and Summit League teams now control the Missouri Valley in football with South Dakota, South Dakota State, North Dakota, and North Dakota State all playing football there.

Could current Summit member St. Thomas University upgrade from its current Pioneer League Football status (non-scholarship) to FCS membership (scholarships) in the Summit?  Will the Summit pursue Southern Utah from the WAC as a new member along with Northern Colorado, or add another Big Sky football school(s), to bolster a potential plan to add football to the Summit League Conference?

Others speculate that both hockey and football may find a home in the Summit as sponsored sports moving forward. Such a deal may satisfy some members with teams in either hockey, football, or both, with one current Summit team, Oral Roberts,  not sponsoring either football or hockey. But don’t get too far out ahead of your skates on the Summit/NCHC merger “rumors” – according to NCHC sources, such a move is not anywhere close to the conference’s radar. The NCHC is in a strong financial condition and the addition of Arizona State next season only makes it stronger.

Some Summit schools may also fight the addition of football to the conference, especially South Dakota State and North Dakota State. That duo may be buying more time to upgrade in several years if the PAC-12 reconstitutes itself and raids the Mountain West. The Mountain West would likely look to backfill with either or both of these schools.

Either way, the far-flung WAC conference appears to be on life support once again, as members scramble for the best landing spot for their athletic programs. The Summit League is likely to be impacted by the realignment chaos but, as always, it is too early to make any definitive conclusions.