Western Football Conference (United States)

The Western Football Conference was an NCAA Division II scholarship-awarding football conference that existed from 1982 to 1993.

Among its member schools were:

• Santa Clara University
• Cal Poly SLO
• Cal State Northridge
• California Lutheran University
• Sacramento State
• Southern Utah
• Portland State
• Cal Poly Pomona

Its founding, and only commissioner was Vic Buccola who had been the Athletic Director at Cal Poly from 1973 to 1981. He then became a founder and commissioner of American West Conference.

The WFC folded in part because of a new NCAA rule that prohibited member institutions who competed at the Division I (D-I) level in other sports to compete at the Division II (D-II) level in football. Of the eight member schools:

• Four (Cal Poly SLO, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, and Portland State) are currently members of the Division I FCS Big Sky Conference.
• One (California Lutheran) is a member of the Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).
• And three have dropped football as a varsity sport - Cal Poly Pomona in 1983, Santa Clara in 1993, and Cal State Northridge in 2001 (following a brief stint in the Big Sky). In all other sports, Cal Poly Pomona is currently a member of the Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association, Santa Clara is a member of the Division I West Coast Conference, and Cal State Northridge is a member of the Division I Big West Conference.

The WFC Scholar Athlete of the Year Award was named for Santa Clara's legendary Small College / D-II coach Pat Malley, its recipients include:

• 1987 - Tracy Morris Downs, M.D. - Cal Lutheran