In the end, McNeese’s last-minute flip helped lead to the WAC’s flop.

Back in the summer of 2021, the Western Athletic Conference fired the first shots in its war with the Southland Conference, removing four teams from the league.

At first look, it appeared to be a kill shot to the Southland, as the conference was left staggered and bloodied. 

The WAC undoubtedly won the opening battle. However, it is now clear that it has lost the war.

Two of the four schools that left the Southland in the original purge are back with the league. After one season in the WAC, Lamar returned, and Stephen F. Austin rejoined this year.

The other two, Sam Houston and Abilene Christian, are either gone or looking for a new home.

Initially, the WAC promoted the idea of moving its football teams to FBS and becoming a two-bid basketball conference. Neither idea succeeded.

Instead, it became a travel-heavy conference covering three time zones with no television deal to pay for all the mileage. The math just hasn’t worked out.

Two more schools recently announced their intentions to leave the conference, and a couple of other Utah institutions are reportedly looking for new homes. The WAC appears to be in scramble mode. 

Meanwhile, the Southland has rebounded nicely since being on life support. A deal between Commissioner Chris Grant and McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer sealed the fate of both leagues, but we just didn’t know it at the time.

McNeese was within an hour of bolting from the SLC to the WAC one year after the first four jumped ship, but Schroyer had a bad feeling. He was looking for an escape hatch and found one in a sweetheart deal with Grant and the Southland.

Schroyer saved the Southland at the last minute, and Grant became the general who would eventually win the war with the WAC. After two hurricanes, the commish also helped McNeese reboot its athletic program, making the school the center of the new SLC.

Others around the league gripped, but they now figure it was all for the better. There is always hurt pride during wars.

After McNeese flipped, Incarnate Word followed, though their deal to stay was not as dramatic.

Lamar bounced back one year after leaving, and SFA followed soon after, even if its fans thought the program was too good to return.

Now, there is talk that the three remaining Texas schools in the WAC will need new homes, and the Southland makes sense…for them. 

The Southland needs to think long and hard about its next move. While it would be easy to welcome any of them and claim unconditional victory, we must remember how we got to the summer of 2021. 

Many mistakes were made in the league, including letting anybody join and seeing the haves and have-nots battle. Currently, the league is moving in the right direction, even if the schools are not all on the same page.

If the league goes back to its previous actions, it may have another war on its hands soon.

Grant should at least take his time and ensure his next move benefits the schools he already has, not the ones desperate for a safe landing space.

For now, the Southland looks good. It must act like the winner so it doesn’t repeat mistakes of the past.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com