West Texas A&M President Dr. Walter Wendler wasn’t the first person to envision a conference consisting of only in-state institutions. Still, he is the first university president in Texas to write about the possibility. While the major collegiate universities are forming conferences that span the country, many across the Non-FBS landscape long for a return to conferences focusing on regionalization.
In 2021, Oklahoma state representative Mark Vancuren from Owasso proposed a radical change. He explored the idea of a conference consisting of all 11 NCAA Division II institutions in Oklahoma, which are currently spread across three conferences: the Lone Star Conference (LSC), the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (MIAA), and the Great American Conference (GAC). Vancuren believed combining these schools into one conference would cut travel time, lower costs for games, and reinvigorate in-state rivalries.
Wendler sparked discussion of an all-Texas conference after teaming up with then-WT’s Director of Athletics Michael McBroom to write a six-part series on intercollegiate athletics in the Spring of 2022.
The fifth part of the series, “A Fresh Form of Intercollegiate Athletics,” delved into the potential benefits of an all-Texas conference. It highlighted how such a conference could be more proactive in adapting to changes in college athletics, positively influence Texas communities, better cater to the needs of its members compared to a multi-state conference, and significantly reduce travel costs for institutions, families, and fans. The piece also suggested eliminating competitions on Sundays.
The sixth and final part of the series is where Wendler tabbed this would-be conference the “Texas Athletic Conference (TAC).” He imagined a TAC football championship game held at the Alamodome and a “Governor’s Cup” awarded annually to the best athletic department in Texas.
Wendler and McBroom's ideas initially made waves in Texas and the college football world. However, the conversation was primarily silent over the last two years. It was only when recent events, such as the uncertain future of Texas teams in the Western Athletic Conference following the departures of Grand Canyon, Seattle University, and UTRGV and the return of Stephen F. Austin to the Southland Conference, reignited the discussion.
Two weeks ago, Abilene Christian President Dr. Phil Schubert sat with KTAB Sports Director David Robinett to discuss “Navigating the ever-changing college sports landscape and ACU’s future in the WAC.” Toward the end of the interview, Robinett broached the idea of creating a TAC. Schubert noted plenty of other schools are in the conversation due to the current conference realignment.
“If you’re asking me, would I love to see an all-Texas conference at some point? You better believe I would, and if I ever get the chance to bring something like that about or have (an) influence on bringing Texas schools together under one brand to play Texas sports together, especially football, man, we would jump at that chance,” Schubert said in the interview. “If there is a state in the country that could (have its own conference), it’s Texas. Maybe there’ll be an opportunity with all the movement taking place for that to emerge as something we could pursue. We would certainly be interested in that.”
Dr. Wendler’s vision for a TAC would include “Some combination of FCS and Division II schools in Texas could be considered for membership. There would be symmetry in this Texas collection of colleges, as all schools in the conference would play football.”
One area where almost everyone agrees, including Wendler and Schubert, is that Texas is the only state in the country with the resources and ability to make a Texas Athletic Conference a reality. But how would a TAC look, and could it eventually become a reality?
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