Western Football Conference (United States)

Western Football Conference
ConferenceNCAA
DivisionII
RegionPacific coast

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

Among its member schools were (from 1982 to 1992 unless otherwise noted):

The first discussion of the formation of the league was held by administrators in 1976.[1] 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 the multi-sport American West Conference, which was chartered after the WFC folded in 1993.

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 from competing at the Division II (D-II) level in football.[2][3] Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly SLO, Southern Utah, and Sacramento State, plus UC Davis for football, were the first announced members of the American West Conference.[4]

Of the eight WFC member schools:

The WFC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award was named for Santa Clara coach Pat Malley. Its recipients include:

  • 1987: Tracy Morris Downs, M.D., Cal Lutheran
  1. ^ Payne, Dave (September 9, 1982). "Santa Clara finds a home in new football conference". San Jose Mercury News. pp. 13E.
  2. ^ Vigallon, Scott (January 6, 1991). "Proposal Would Force Changes at SCU". San Jose Mercury News. pp. 8D.
  3. ^ "Vikings set to open post-Pokey Allen era". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. Associated Press. August 31, 1993. p. 14. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Hornets, UCD join new conference". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. July 15, 1993. p. C3. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.