The newly-expanded Western Athletic Conference will have a larger membership for the 2021 season, according to a report from Yahoo Sports. 

Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Central Arkansas will play the 2021 football season as part of the WAC. All three will then move on to the Atlantic Sun Conference starting in 2022. 

The decision will give the WAC nine football members for the 2021 season: Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Central Arkansas, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar, Abilene Christian, Dixie State and Tarleton. More importantly, seven teams are eligible for the FCS Playoffs, which means the WAC will meet the NCAA requirement for an auto-bid. Tarleton and Dixie State are transitioning members from Division II. 

The WAC's decision comes as the league brings back football for the first time since 2012. The league is expediting the return after the four new schools from the Southland decided to enter the conference in time for the 2021 season instead of the 2022 season as many expected.

The decision allows the WAC to take its time in finding a sixth playoff-eligible program in time for the 2022 season without costing its new members a playoff shot. Sam Houston especially has been a mainstay in the FCS Playoffs over the past several seasons. The Bearkats and Central Arkansas will likely fight with SFA for the auto-bid in 2021. 

Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky are joining from the Ohio Valley Conference, while Central Arkansas is joining the "Texas Four" from the Southland Conference. 

Starting in 2022, the WAC will welcome Southern Utah as its seventh football school. The league has also been forward about the fact that it hopes to add an eighth football school in time for the 2022 football season, ideally in the Texas corner of the conference map.