Western Athletic Conference football
Former members
Table:
Team
First Season
Last Season
WAC Titles
Current Primary Conference

Air Force Falcons

1980

1998

3

Mountain West

Arizona Wildcats

1962

1977

2

Pac-12

Arizona State Sun Devils

1962

1977

7

Pac-12

Boise State Broncos

2001

2010

8

Mountain West

BYU Cougars

1962

1998

19

IND

Fresno State Bulldogs

1992

2011

3

Mountain West

Colorado State Rams

1967

1998

3

Mountain West

Hawaii Warriors

1979

2011

4

Big West

Idaho Vandals

2005

2012

0

Big Sky

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

2001

2012

2

C-USA

UNLV Rebels

1996

1998

0

Mountain West

Nevada Wolf Pack

2000

2011

2

Mountain West

New Mexico Lobos

1962

1998

2

Mountain West

New Mexico State Aggies

2005

2012

0

Independent

Rice Owls

1996

2004

0

C-USA

San Diego State Aztecs

1978

1998

1

Mountain West

San Jose State Spartans

1996

2012

0

Mountain West

SMU Mustangs

1996

2004

0

The American

TCU Horned Frogs

1996

2000

2

Big 12

UTEP Miners

1967

2004

1

C-USA

From the accompanying table together with the article excerpts below.

Answer the following question: For the team that plays at the LaVell Edwards Stadium , what conference does it participate in ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

The Air Force Falcons football program represents the United States Air Force Academy in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( formerly Division I-A ) level . Air Force has been a member of the Mountain West Conference since its founding in 1999 . The Falcons play their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs , Colorado . Troy Calhoun has been the team 's head coach since 2007 . The three major service academies - Air Force , Army , and Navy - compete for the Commander-in-Chief 's Trophy , which is awarded to the academy that defeats the others in football that year ( or retained by the previous winner in the event of a three-way tie ) .
The Mountain West Conference ( MW ) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) ( formerly I-A ) . The MW officially began operations in July 1999 . Geographically , the MW covers a broad expanse of the Western United States , with member schools located in California , Colorado , Hawaii , Idaho , Nevada , New Mexico , Utah , and Wyoming . Craig Thompson has served as Commissioner of the MW since its founding in 1999 . The charter members of the MW included the United States Air Force Academy , Brigham Young University , Colorado State University , San Diego State University , the University of New Mexico , the University of Nevada , Las Vegas , the University of Utah , and the University of Wyoming . Before forming the Mountain West Conference , seven of its eight charter members had been longtime members of the Western Athletic Conference , and half of these had been charter members of that conference from 1962 . Overall , each school that has ever been either a full or football-only member of the MW spent at least three years in the WAC before joining the Mountain West .
The Arizona Wildcats football program represents the University of Arizona in the sport of American college football . Arizona competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) and the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference ( Pac-12 ) . Arizona officially began competing in intercollegiate football in 1889 . The school joined the Pac-10 Conference in 1978 alongside rival Arizona State , and became a member of the Pac-12 South Division when the conference realigned in 2011 . Arizona has won six conference championships , including the 1993 Pac-10 title , and have appeared in 21 bowl games . Arizona 's home stadium is Arizona Stadium , which opened in 1939 and has a capacity of 50,782 . Arizona 's archrival is in-state foe Arizona State Sun Devils . The Wildcats and Sun Devils meet annually in the Territorial Cup . As heading into the 2019 season , Arizona 's all-time record is 618-452-33 .
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States , participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level . Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ; formerly Division I-A ) , the higher of two tiers of NCAA Division I football competition . The conference 's 12 members are located in the states of Arizona , California , Colorado , Oregon , Utah , and Washington . They include each state 's flagship public university , four additional public universities , and two private research universities . The modern Pac-12 conference formed after the disbanding of the Pacific Coast Conference ( PCC ) , whose principal members founded the Athletic Association of Western Universities ( AAWU ) in 1959 . The conference previously went by the names Big Five , Big Six , Pacific-8 , and Pacific-10 . The Pac-12 moniker was adopted in 2011 with the addition of Colorado and Utah . Nicknamed the Conference of Champions , the Pac-12 has won more NCAA national championships in team sports than any other conference in history . The top three schools with the most NCAA team championships are members of the Pac-12 : Stanford , UCLA , and USC , respectively . Washington 's national title in women 's rowing in 2017 was the 500th NCAA championship won by a Pac-12 school . The current commissioner of the conference is Larry Scott . Scott replaced Thomas C. Hansen , who retired in July 2009 after 26 years in that position .
The Arizona State Sun Devils football team represents Arizona State University in the sport of American football . The Sun Devils team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) and the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference ( Pac-12 ) . Arizona State University has fielded a football team since 1897 . The Sun Devils are currently led by head coach Herm Edwards and play their home games at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe , Arizona . The Sun Devils have won seventeen conference titles , including three Pac-12 titles . A number of successful and professional football players once played for ASU . The school has 3 unanimous All-Americans and 16 consensus selections . Among the most lauded players the school has produced are Pat Tillman , Terrell Suggs , Mike Haynes , Darren Woodson , Charley Taylor , and John Henry Johnson . In addition to its players , ASU 's football program has had several notable head coaches , including Hall of Famers Dan Devine and John Cooper and national champion Dennis Erickson . The all-time school wins leader is Hall of Fame coach Frank Kush , for whom Frank Kush Field at Sun Devil Stadium is named . Kush also consistently led the Sun Devils to victory against the Arizona Wildcats , ASU 's traditional rival , losing to the Wildcats only twice between 1963 and 1979 . [ circular reference ]
The Boise State Broncos football program represents Boise State University in college football and competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) as a member of the Mountain West Conference . The Broncos play their home games on campus at Albertsons Stadium in Boise , Idaho , and their head coach is Bryan Harsin . The program is 12-7 in bowl games since 1999 , including a 3-0 record in the Fiesta Bowl . As of the end of the 2019 season , the Broncos all-time winning percentage of .731 is the highest in all of collegiate football .
The BYU Cougars team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University ( BYU ) , a private university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922 , and have won 23 conference championships and one national championship in 1984 . The team has competed in several different athletic conferences during its history , but since July 1 , 2011 , they have competed as an Independent . The team plays home games at the 63,470-seat LaVell Edwards Stadium , which is named after legendary head coach LaVell Edwards . LaVell Edwards won 19 conference championships , seven bowl games , and one national championship ( 1984 ) while coaching at BYU , and is regarded as the most successful coach in BYU program history .
National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Football Bowl Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of an NCAA-affiliated conference . This means that FBS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition like conference schools do . There are fewer independent schools than in years past ; many independent schools join , or attempt to join , established conferences . The main reasons to join a conference are to gain a share of television revenue and access to bowl games that agree to take teams from certain conferences , and to help deal with otherwise potentially difficult challenges in scheduling opponents to play throughout the season . All Division I FBS independents are eligible for the College Football Playoff ( CFP ) , or for the so-called access bowls associated with the CFP , if they are chosen by the CFP selection committee . Notre Dame has a potential tie-in with the Orange Bowl . Army has an agreement with the Military Bowl ( formerly the EagleBank Bowl ) , and Notre Dame , in addition to its CFP agreement , has other bowl agreements as part of its affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) . ( Notre Dame had similar agreements with its previous conference , the Big East . ) BYU had an agreement with the Armed Forces Bowl for 2011 . The ranks of football independents increased by one starting with the 2011 season with the announcement that BYU would leave the Mountain West Conference ( MWC ) to become a football independent starting with that season . The ranks increased by two in 2013 when the Western Athletic Conference ( WAC ) dropped football and New Mexico State and Idaho did not have a conference for football . The ranks of football independents decreased by two in 2014 with the return of Idaho and New Mexico State as football-only members of the Sun Belt Conference ( SBC ) and decreased by one more in 2015 with Navy joining the American Athletic Conference ( AAC ) as a football-only member .
The Fresno State Bulldogs football team represents California State University , Fresno in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference . The green V on the Bulldogs ' helmets , uniforms , field symbolize California Central Valley , specifically the San Joaquin Valley , the agricultural valley from which they draw their support . Jeff Tedford was the head coach from 2017 to 2019 .
The Colorado State Rams football program , established in 1893 , represents Colorado State University and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and Mountain West Conference . Rams football teams have had relative success over the years , including winning or sharing the Mountain West title in 1999 , 2000 and 2002 . The team 's head coach role is vacant as of December 2019 . The Rams completed a 49-season tenure at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium , located four miles west of the school 's campus in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains , in 2016 . The university completed construction of Canvas Stadium , a new on-campus facility , in 2017 . The first game at Canvas Stadium ( then named Colorado State Stadium for only the 2017 season ) was played on August 26 , 2017 , when the Rams defeated the Oregon State Beavers 58-27 . The Rams have long-standing rivalries with Colorado , Wyoming , and Air Force .
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represents the University of Hawaii at Manoa in NCAA Division I FBS college football . It was part of the Western Athletic Conference until July 2012 , when the team joined the Mountain West Conference . From 2000 until July 1 , 2013 , the football team was renamed to simply Warriors , until a 2013 decision to standardize all of the school 's athletic team names took effect , and the team was once again known as the Rainbow Warriors . The Hawaiʻi Warriors were the third team from a non automatic qualifier conference to play in a BCS bowl game . They played Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on January 1 , 2008 in New Orleans , and lost 41-10 .
The Big West Conference ( BWC ) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The conference was originally formed in 1969 as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association ( PCAA ) , and in 1988 was renamed the Big West Conference . The conference stopped sponsoring college football after the 2000 season .
The Idaho Vandals are the college football team that represents the University of Idaho and plays its home games at the Kibbie Dome , an indoor facility on campus in Moscow , Idaho . Idaho is a member of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) . The current head coach is Paul Petrino , who began his tenure in 2013 . The Idaho football program began 127 years ago in 1893 , and through the 2017 season , the Vandals have an all-time record of 463-611-27 ( .433 ) . They have played in three bowl games in their history , all victories in the Humanitarian/Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise in 1998 , 2009 , and 2016 . As a Division I-AA ( FCS ) program for 18 seasons ( 1978-1995 ) , Idaho made the playoffs eleven times and advanced to the national semifinals twice ( 1988 , 1993 ) . On April 28 , 2016 , university president Chuck Staben announced the football program would return to the Big Sky and FCS in 2018 . This followed the Sun Belt Conference 's announcement on March 1 that the associate membership of Idaho and New Mexico State for football would end after the 2017 season . Idaho is the first FBS program to voluntarily drop to FCS .
The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA 's Division I , with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the western United States in the nine states of Arizona , California , Colorado , Idaho , Montana , Oregon , Utah , and Washington . Four affiliate members each participate in one sport . Two schools from California are football-only participants , and two schools from the Northeast participate only in men 's golf .
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs represent Louisiana Tech University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( formerly Division I-A ) level . After 12 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference , Louisiana Tech began competing as a member of Conference USA in 2013 . Since then , the Bulldogs have been coached by Skip Holtz and have won their last 6 consecutive bowl games . Since 1968 , the Bulldogs have played their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium . Since the Bulldogs first season in 1901 , Louisiana Tech has compiled an all-time record of 630 wins , 465 losses , and 39 ties . In 118 football seasons , the Bulldogs have won 3 Division II national championships , won 25 conference championships , and played in 27 postseason games including 12 major college bowl games .
Conference USA ( C-USA or CUSA ) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States . The conference participates in the NCAA 's Division I in all sports . C-USA 's offices are located in Dallas , Texas .
The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada , Las Vegas ( UNLV ) . The team is currently a member of the Mountain West Conference , which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision ( formerly Division I-A ) conference of the National Collegiate Athletics Association ( NCAA ) . The program , which began on September 14 , 1968 , called Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney , Nevada home from 1971 until the end of the 2019 season , where they will share the new Allegiant Stadium in Paradise , Nevada , near the famed Las Vegas Strip with the Las Vegas Raiders .
The Nevada Wolf Pack football program represents the University of Nevada , Reno ( commonly referred to as Nevada in athletics ) in college football . The Wolf Pack competes in the Mountain West Conference at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of the NCAA Division I . It was founded on October 24 , 1896 as the Sagebrushers in Reno , Nevada . The Wolf Pack 's home field is Mackay Stadium , located at the north end of its campus in Reno , having been moved from it original location which opened in 1909 . The new Mackay Stadium saw its first game 54 years ago on October 1 , 1966 with a seating capacity of 7,500 and has undergone several renovations . The stadium currently seats 30,000 and has played to crowds in excess ( see attendance records ) , but decreased its capacity to 26,000 by the 2016 season to increase the quality of the experience in the stadium and later increased its capacity to 27,000 by the 2017 season and 30,000 by the 2018 season . The elevation of its playing field is 4,610 feet ( 1,410 m ) above sea level . Nevada has had three individuals inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . They are coach Chris Ault , running back Frank Hawkins ( 1977-80 ) and former coach Buck Shaw . Fullback Marion Motley is the only Nevada player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Three-time Super Bowl champion Charles Mann played for Nevada from 1979 to 1982 and was named Most Valuable Defensive Lineman in 1982 . Mann was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 .
The New Mexico Lobos football team is the intercollegiate football team at the University of New Mexico . The Lobos compete as a member of the Mountain West Conference . They have a cumulative record of 449-513-31 . Their official colors are cherry and silver . The Lobos play their home games at Dreamstyle Stadium .
The New Mexico State Aggies football team represents New Mexico State University in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) college football as an independent . Although New Mexico State is a member of the Western Athletic Conference ( WAC ) for other sports , the WAC ceased to offer football as a sport after the 2012 season due to a realignment in which most of its football-playing members left for other conferences . After spending the 2013 season as an independent and 2014 to 2017 as a football-only member of the Sun Belt Conference , New Mexico State began playing as an independent again with the 2018 football season .
The Rice Owls football team represents Rice University in NCAA Division I college football . The Owls have competed in Conference USA 's Western Division since 2005 . Rice Stadium , built in 1950 , hosts the Owls ' home football games .
The San Diego State Aztecs football team represents San Diego State University in the sport of American football . The Aztecs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association ( NCAA ) and the West Division of the Mountain West Conference ( MW ) . They play their homes games at SDCCU Stadium and are currently coached by Brady Hoke . They have won twenty-one conference championships and three national championships at the small college division . They were scheduled to become a football-only member of the Big East Conference in July 2013 , but on January 17 , the Mountain West 's board of directors voted to reinstate San Diego State .
The San Jose State Spartans football team represents San José State University in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference .
The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team that represents Southern Methodist University ( more commonly SMU ) . The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) as a member of the American Athletic Conference ( The American ) .
The American Athletic Conference ( The American or AAC ) , is an American collegiate athletic conference , featuring 12 member universities and six associate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's ( NCAA ) Division I , with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) . Member universities represent a range of private and public universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern , Midwestern , and Southern regions of the United States . The American 's legal predecessor , the original Big East Conference , was considered one of the six collegiate power conferences of the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) era in college football , and The American inherited that status in the BCS 's final season . With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014 , The American became a Group of Five conference , which shares one automatic spot in the New Year 's Six bowl games . [ note 3 ] The league is the product of substantial turmoil in the old Big East during the 2010-14 conference realignment period . It is one of two conferences to emerge from the all-sports Big East in 2013 . While the other successor , which does not sponsor football , purchased the Big East Conference name , The American inherited the old Big East 's structure and is that conference 's legal successor . However , both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date , and the same history up to 2013 . The American is headquartered in Providence , Rhode Island , and led by Commissioner Michael Aresco .
The TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University ( TCU ) . The Horned Frogs compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) , the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) in the United States . Since 2012 , the Horned Frogs have been a member of the Big 12 Conference , and were previously members of the Mountain West Conference ( MWC ) , Western Athletic Conference ( WAC ) , Conference USA ( C-USA ) , Southwest Conference ( SWC ) , and Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( TIAA ) . TCU began playing football in 1896 and claims national championships in 1935 and 1938 . TCU has one Heisman Trophy winner , Davey O'Brien , and has had eight former players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . The Horned Frogs play their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium , which is located on the TCU campus in Fort Worth . TCU ranks as the 4th best private college football school of all time , behind Notre Dame , USC , and Miami-FL . The Horned Frogs are also one of only four FBS teams to have played in all six College Football Playoff Bowls , winning all but the Fiesta and Orange . In 2017 , TCU and Coach Patterson reached their 10th 11-win season since Gary Patterson has been coaching for the program . That is the 4th most 11 win seasons since 2001 in all of college football .
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Irving , Texas . The conference consists of ten full-member universities . It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) for all sports . Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ; formerly Division I-A ) , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition . Its ten members , in the states of Iowa , Kansas , Oklahoma , Texas , and West Virginia , include eight public and two private , Christian schools . Additionally , the Big 12 has 11 affiliate members - eight for the sport of wrestling , one of which is also a member in women 's equestrianism ; one for women 's gymnastics ; and two for women 's rowing . The Big 12 Conference is a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) nonprofit organization incorporated in Delaware . The Big 12 Conference was founded on February 25 , 1994 . The eight members of the former Big Eight Conference joined with Southwest Conference schools Texas , Texas A & M , Baylor , and Texas Tech to form the new Big 12 Conference , which commenced competition on August 31 , 1996 . The conference 's current 10-campus makeup resulted from the 2010-13 Big 12 Conference realignment , in which Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference , Colorado joined the Pac-12 , and Missouri and Texas A & M joined the Southeastern Conference . TCU and West Virginia joined from the Mountain West and Big East Conferences respectively to offset two of the departing schools , bringing the conference to its current strength . The Big 12 Conference , like others involved in the realignment , has kept its name primarily for marketing purposes ; the conference has high name recognition and remains one of the Power Five conferences which are considered the primary contenders to produce a College Football Playoff champion team in any given year .
The UTEP Miners football program represents University of Texas at El Paso ( UTEP ) in the sport of American football . The Miners compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) and the West Division of Conference USA ( CUSA ) . They are currently coached by Dana Dimel . UTEP has produced a Border Conference championship team in 1956 and a Western Athletic Conference championship team in 2000 , along with 14 postseason bowl appearances . The Miners play their home games at the Sun Bowl which has a seating capacity of 51,500 .