Kyle Whelliston on the whys and wherefores of the WAC struggle

ESPN had an article today detailing some background on the cause of the conference decline of the WAC to date this season.

WAC teams schedule up, off to a slow start
Kyle Whelliston
Special to ESPN.com
December 14, 2007

Utah State head coach Stew Morrill is busy these days. So busy breaking in eight new players and navigating through a tough nonconference schedule, he doesn't have time to check up on his WAC league mates, their records or even the conference's RPI.

"I don't even know where our RPI is as a conference," Morrill said on Tuesday. "Where are we right now?"

You really don't want to know, coach. The Western Athletic Conference currently stands at No. 26, just ahead of the MEAC, right behind the America East.

"Really," Morrill said, followed by a lengthy pause. "I … I … that's amazing. We've been No. 9 or No. 10 pretty consistently. I think our league's a lot better than that."

Not at the moment. Only three of the WAC's nine member schools (Boise State, Fresno State and Utah State) own a winning record, and the league as a whole has stumbled to a 35-43 nonconference mark so far. A league that's been a consistent two-bid performer -- one that has sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament the past 24 years (except 2003) -- is in remarkably unfamiliar territory these days. No other conference currently in the 20s of the RPI has earned an at-large bid to the Big Dance this century.

Each WAC team is an island unto itself this time of year (conference play doesn't start until Jan. 2), so the sudden and amazing decline can't be pinned on any one leaguewide factor. But it seems that a tide of remarkably bad fortune has submerged the league's signature programs.

Go here for the complete article.