WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The Western Athletic Conference has held a postseason tournament to crown a men's basketball champion every year since 1984. The event has alternated between being hosted at campus sites and neutral sites throughout its history. From the inaugural event in 1984 until 1992 the regular season champion hosted the tournament, but in 1993 and 1994 the event was held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City which, although located less than five miles from then-conference member Utah's campus, was considered a neutral site. From 1995 through 2009 the event returned to on-campus sites, although the location was awarded through a predetermined bidding process rather than being given to the regular-season champion. Since 2010 the tournament has again been held at a neutral site, the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The winner of the WAC Basketball Tournament is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Basketball Tournament every year.
WAC Men's Basketball Tournament results
| Year |
Winner |
Score |
Opponent |
MVP |
Venue |
| 1984 |
UTEP |
62–55 |
New Mexico |
Juden Smith, UTEP |
Special Events Center (El Paso, Texas) |
| 1985 |
San Diego State |
87–81 |
UTEP |
Luster Goodwin, UTEP |
Special Events Center (El Paso, Texas) |
| 1986 |
UTEP |
65–64 |
Wyoming |
Eric Leckner, Wyoming |
Arena-Auditorium (Laramie, Wyoming) |
| 1987 |
Wyoming |
64–62 |
New Mexico |
Eric Leckner, Wyoming |
The Pit (Albuquerque, New Mexico) |
| 1988 |
Wyoming |
79–75 |
UTEP |
Eric Leckner, Wyoming |
Marriott Center (Provo, Utah) |
| 1989 |
UTEP |
73–60 |
Colorado State |
Tim Hardaway, UTEP |
Jon M. Huntsman Center (Salt Lake City, Utah) |
| 1990 |
UTEP |
75–58 |
Hawaiʻi |
Greg Foster, UTEP |
Special Events Center (El Paso, Texas) |
| 1991 |
BYU |
51–49 |
Utah |
Shawn Bradley, BYU |
Arena-Auditorium (Laramie, Wyoming) |
| 1992 |
BYU |
73–71 |
UTEP |
Eddie Rivera, UTEP |
Moby Arena (Fort Collins, Colorado) |
| 1993 |
New Mexico |
76–65 |
UTEP |
Ike Williams, New Mexico |
Delta Center (Salt Lake City, Utah) |
| 1994 |
Hawaiʻi |
73–66 |
BYU |
Trevor Ruffin, Hawaiʻi |
Delta Center (Salt Lake City, Utah) |
| 1995 |
Utah |
67–54 |
Hawaii |
Keith Van Horn, Utah |
The Pit (Albuquerque, New Mexico) |
| 1996 |
New Mexico |
64–60 |
Utah |
Kenny Thomas, New Mexico |
The Pit (Albuquerque, New Mexico) |
| 1997 |
Utah |
89–68 |
TCU |
Keith Van Horn, Utah |
Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, Nevada) |
| 1998 |
UNLV |
56–51 |
New Mexico |
Kenny Thomas, New Mexico |
Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, Nevada) |
| 1999 |
Utah |
60–45 |
New Mexico |
Alex Jensen, Utah |
Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, Nevada) |
| 2000 |
Fresno State |
75–72 |
Tulsa |
Courtney Alexander, Fresno State |
Selland Arena (Fresno, California) |
| 2001 |
Hawaiʻi |
78–72 |
Tulsa |
Carl English, Hawaiʻi |
Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma) |
| 2002 |
Hawaiʻi |
73–59 |
Tulsa |
Predrag Savovic, Hawaiʻi |
Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma) |
| 2003 |
Tulsa |
75–64 |
Nevada |
Kevin Johnson, Tulsa |
Reynolds Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma) |
| 2004 |
Nevada |
66–60 |
UTEP |
Kirk Snyder, Nevada |
Save Mart Center (Fresno, California) |
| 2005 |
UTEP |
91–78 |
Boise State |
Filiberto Rivera, UTEP |
Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada) |
| 2006 |
Nevada |
70–63 |
Utah State |
Nick Fazekas, Nevada |
Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada) |
| 2007 |
New Mexico State |
72–70 |
Utah State |
Justin Hawkins, New Mexico State |
Pan American Center (Las Cruces, New Mexico) |
| 2008 |
Boise State |
107–102 (3ot) |
New Mexico State |
Reggie Larry, Boise State |
Pan American Center (Las Cruces, New Mexico) |
| 2009 |
Utah State |
72–62 |
Nevada |
Gary Wilkinson, Utah State |
Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada) |
| 2010 |
New Mexico State |
69–63 |
Utah State |
Jamhar Young, New Mexico State |
Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada) |
| 2011 |
Utah State |
77–69 |
Boise State |
Brockeith Pane, Utah State |
Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada) |
| 2012 |
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|
|
Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada) |
Performance by school
| Member |
Winners |
Winning Years |
| ¹UTEP |
5
|
1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 2005 |
| ¹Hawaiʻi |
3
|
1994, 2001, 2002 |
| ¹Utah |
3
|
1995, 1997, 1999 |
| ¹Nevada |
2
|
2004, 2006 |
| ¹Wyoming |
2
|
1987, 1988 |
| ¹BYU |
2
|
1991, 1992 |
| ¹New Mexico |
2
|
1993, 1996 |
| New Mexico State |
2
|
2007, 2010 |
| Utah State |
2
|
2009, 2011 |
| ¹Boise State |
1
|
2008 |
| ¹Tulsa |
1
|
2003 |
| ¹Fresno State |
1
|
2000 |
| ¹UNLV |
1
|
1998 |
| ¹San Diego State |
1
|
1985 |
| TOTAL |
28
|
¹no longer a conference member as of 2012-2013 season
Television coverage
See also
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WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
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| 1980s |
1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989
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| 1990s |
1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999
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| 2000s |
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| 2010s |
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| Teams |
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