Question: Which NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference did the 2016 Washington State Cougars football team play in?

full_context: Document 1: Big 12 Conference football: The Big 12 Conference is a conference of 10 (originally 12) universities which participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football. The conference was formed in 1994 but did not begin conference play until the fall of 1996. The schools that compose the Big 12 Conference, except West Virginia, were members of either the Big Eight Conference or the Southwest Conference, and have won 21 national titles including 3 titles since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
Document 2: 1997 Washington State Cougars football team: The 1997 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth season under head coach Mike Price, the Cougars compiled a 10–2 record (7–1 against Pac-10 opponents), won the Pac-10 championship, lost to Michigan in the 1998 Rose Bowl, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 483 to 296. The Cougars and played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.
Document 3: 2011 Pac-12 Football Championship Game: The 2011 Pac-12 Football Championship Game was played on Friday, December 2, 2011 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon to determine the 2011 football champion of the Pac-12 Conference. The game featured the UCLA Bruins of the South Division against the Oregon Ducks of the North Division. It was the first football conference championship for the Pac-12 Conference, or any of its predecessors. The game took place at Oregon's Autzen Stadium, as the Ducks' conference record of 8–1 was better than UCLA's record of 5–4 . The Ducks defeated the Bruins 49-31, and would earn a berth in the 2012 Rose Bowl. At the Rose Bowl Game, the Ducks defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 45–38 for the Rose Bowl Championship trophy.
Document 4: Mike Leach (American football coach): Michael Charles Leach (born March 9, 1961) is an American college football coach. He is the head coach of the Washington State Cougars football team. Previously, he was head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team, leading the Red Raiders to winning seasons in every year of his tenure.
Document 5: Western Athletic Conference: The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference formed on July 27, 1962 and affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States, with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington, along with the "non-western" states of Missouri and Illinois (traditionally associated with the Midwest), as well as Texas (traditionally associated with the Southwest).
Document 6: Big 12 Conference: The Big 12 Conference is a ten-school collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a member of the NCAA's Division I 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, located in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia, include eight public and two private Christian schools. Additionally, the Big 12 has 12 affiliate members, eight for the sport of wrestling, one for women's gymnastics, and 3 for women's rowing. The Big 12 Conference is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Delaware.
Document 7: 2011 Washington Huskies football team: The 2011 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by third year head coach Steve Sarkisian. They played six of their home games at Husky Stadium and their final home game at CenturyLink Field due to a planned renovation of Husky Stadium; both stadiums are in Seattle, Washington. They are a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–4 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place in the North division. They were invited to the Alamo Bowl where they were defeated by Baylor 56–67.
Document 8: Big Ten Conference: The Big Ten Conference (B1G), formerly Western Conference and Big Nine Conference, is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Despite its name, the conference consists of 14 members (as of 2016). They compete in the NCAA Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport. The conference includes the flagship public university in each of 11 states stretching from New Jersey to Nebraska, as well as two additional public land grant schools and a private university.
Document 9: 2014 Washington Huskies football team: The 2014 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was Chris Petersen, in his first year at UW after eight seasons as head coach at Boise State. Washington was a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference and the Huskies played their home games on campus at Husky Stadium, in the University District of Seattle. They finished the season 8–6, 4–5 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place in the North Division. They were invited to the Cactus Bowl where they lost to Oklahoma State.
Document 10: Mountain West Conference: 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.
Document 11: 2012 Washington State Cougars football team: The 2012 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by first-year head coach Mike Leach and played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 1–8 in Pac-12 play to finish in last place in the North Division.
Document 12: 1996 Washington State Cougars football team: The 1996 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth season under head coach Mike Price, the Cougars compiled a 5–6 record (3–5 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for fifth place in the Pac-10, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 317 to 314.
Document 13: Pac-12 Conference: The Pac-12 Conference (officially the Pacific-12 Conference) is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States, participating in 22 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.
Document 14: 2012 Washington Huskies football team: The 2012 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, coached by fourth-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, was a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. The Huskies played their home games at CenturyLink Field in Seattle due to renovations at their normal on-campus home of Husky Stadium, also in Seattle. They finished the season 7–6, 5–4 in Pac-12 play to finish in fourth place in the North Division. They were invited to the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas where they were defeated by Boise State.
Document 15: 2016 Washington State Cougars football team: The 2016 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by fifth-year head coach Mike Leach and played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 7–2 in Pac-12 play to finish in second place in the North Division. They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they were defeated by Minnesota.
ground_truth: Pac-12 Conference