Get to Know the (Former) FCS: American West Conference (1993-1996)
Years in Existence: 1993-1996 (1995 being the last season of football)
Former Headquarters: good question; believe (but have not definitively confirmed) it was based in San Luis Obispo, California
Former Commissioner(s): Vic Buccola (1993-1996)
History
The American West Conference was founded in 1993 by four charter members—Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (now know as just Cal Poly), Cal State Northridge (CSUN), Sacramento State, and Southern Utah—and joined by fifth member UC Davis before the start of the 1993 season. It was formed in response to the new NCAA rule that went effect in ‘93 barring schools from competing in football at a lower level than other sports.
The four charter members had all come from the Western Football Conference (WFC), a Division II conference that dissipated following the ruling. Although it doesn’t carry any of the WFC’s legacy, the American West was essentially a continuation of the conference, up to and including a continuity in Commissioner. UC Davis, on the other hand, came over from the Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC), a D-II conference they had helped found and been a continuous member of since 1925.
Interestingly, despite the conference change, UC Davis would remain listed as a Division II school for the 1993 season. In fact, they would even end up playing in the D-II playoffs that year, making it to the quarterfinals before falling to Texas A&I. This signaled the Aggies intent at the time, and they would last just the one season as a member, choosing to stay D-II and play independent following the 1993 season. This left the conference at four members its remaining two years of existence.
During its brief existence, the American West football conference faced numerous obstacles, including financial constraints, scheduling difficulties, and disparities in resources among member institutions. Which is to say, the American West as a conference was never very good.
At the time the member schools had intended to show they could be competitive while spending less than traditional I-AA schools (CSUN, for example, was at 40 scholarships the final year of the conference’s existence.). As it turns out, they were not. In the three years of its existence, only 2 teams from the conference amassed a winning record: UC Davis in their only year, and Cal Poly in both 1993 and 1994.
Lacking an automatic payoff draw unless they could bring in at least two more members, and unable to attract said new membership with their stance at keeping football spending down compared to other conferences, the conference ended up folding following the 1995 season. By 1996, Cal Poly would find themselves accepting an offer from the Big West Conference, and both Cal State Northridge and Sacramento State would see themselves joining the Big Sky. Southern Utah would play as an independent for 8 year before going on to become a charter member of the Great West Conference (GWC)—now Summit League—in 2005.
Membership
The American West had 5 total members throughout its short existence, although only four actually competed in I-AA at the time.
*Competed at the Division II level their only year of conference membership
Conference Success and Strength
Conference Championships
| School | Eligible Member Years | Total Conference Championships | Last won |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Davis | 1993 | 1 | 1993 |
| Cal Poly | 1993-1995 | 1 | 1994 |
| Sacramento State | 1993-1995 | 1 | 1995 |
| Southern Utah | 1993-1995 | 1 | 1993 |
| Cal State Northridge | 1993-1995 | 0 | N/A |
FCS National Championships
No American West team ever got close to making the D-IAA playoffs (no auto-bid, and again, the members' teams were just not very good at the time), let alone winning a national championship.
Posted Jul 8, 2023, 1:57 PM UTC