The Western Athletic Conference announced on Friday that the league's Board of Directors voted to allow transitioning members Utah Tech University and Tarleton State University to participate in all conference championships, beginning with the upcoming 2022-23 competition season.
 
The announcement comes a month after the WAC submitted a formal letter of support to the NCAA petitioning for both Tarleton and Utah Tech be granted access to the WAC's automatic qualification for national championships. The WAC's announcement on Friday served to strengthened the conference's commitment to those two institutions by including them in all future championships.
 
"It was important for our Board of Directors to show Tarleton and Utah Tech that the conference is committed to their cause," said WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton. "The inclusion of the Texans and Trailblazers in all championships not only strengthens our league as a whole but provides a large group of student-athletes with a proper end-of-season experience."
 
Both Utah Tech and Tarleton completed the second season of their four-year transition to NCAA Division I status this past May. For the Trailblazer Athletics program, Friday's announcement means that all 15 of its intercollegiate programs will now be eligible to play for WAC championships.
 
"Today is a banner day for Utah Tech University Athletics and all of our student-athletes," said UT Director of Athletics, Ken Beazer.  "We are grateful for the unanimous support of the WAC Board of Directors in granting immediate access to all our sport teams to compete in Conference Championships.  We look forward to working with the Board, and all member institutions, as we collectively solidify the WAC's brand amongst the NCAA's elite DI conferences."
 
For more information on other news from this week's WAC Board of Directors meetings, please visit WACSports.com