It’s official. The University of Denver received a unanimous invitation from the Western Athletic Conference board of directors and will join the Denver-based league July 1, 2012 as a non-football member.
The Pioneers’ men’s and women’s basketball teams and eight other programs will end 13 years of membership in the Sun Belt Conference for the Denver-based WAC. In addition to DU, Texas-San Antonio and Texas State will join the conference in 2012.
“I am confident that these three new members along with the six other WAC schools will continue to compete at the highest level of the NCAA,” WAC commissioner Karl Benson said in a statement.
DU is the first school in WAC history to join as a full member without football. The private school is just a few minutes north of the WAC’s Denver headquarters.
Denver has been a frontrunner in WAC expansion talks since Nevada and Fresno State announced in August that they were leaving. Benson has met with DU officials regularly for the past five years.
“Moving to the WAC will provide great national exposure,” DU athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes said in a statement before the afternoon news conference at DU. “This is a historic day for the University of Denver. We are looking forward to creating new regional rivalries and increased exposure in the WAC.”
The WAC includes Utah State, New Mexico State, Hawaii, Idaho, San Jose State and Louisiana Tech.
Pointing to the success of DU men’s basketball coach Joe Scott at Air Force, Benson said, “He has proven before he can take teams to the NCAA Tournament.”
He also announced Montana decided not to make the financial leap from the Big Sky to Division I-A. However, Seattle University remains under consideration.
