Well, this is the last conference, home of the wild, wild west.

[Hawaii not shown on the map because at any scale where Hawaii is visible, half the conference is on top of each other]

The westernmost non-AQ schools put together the final conference from crazy offenses and coaches famed for playing 'anyone, anywhere'.

League Name: Seeking to lay claim to most of the non-Pac 10 history of western college football, the conference took the name of the Western Athletic Conference.

Members: Fresno State, San Jose State, Utah State, San Diego State, UNLV, Nevada, Hawaii, Idaho

Advantages: Three California schools (and hence access to a major recruiting state), two of which have had some success. Tourist-friendly destinations in San Diego Sate, UNLV, and Hawaii. Nevada has had some success at football recently as well, as has Hawaii. UNLV, San Diego State, and Utah State have had some success in basketball. Five schools relatively closely clustered in California and the western border of Nevada.

Disadvantages: WAC schools play a distant second to Pac 10 or Big 9 schools in all of the states covered by the WAC (even Nevada, which has two WAC programs and none in the major conferences). Hawaii - Idaho is a long distance to travel to (especially since the nearest semi-major airport is in Spokane).

Summary: Most of these schools were in the same conference at one point, so playing together is not unusual. And a lot of the conference is in great places to visit, if not for the college athletics.