2008 BOWL LINEUP – The WAC is affiliated with three bowl games this season. WAC teams will play in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M. against a Mountain West opponent, the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl in Honolulu against a Pac-10 opponent and in the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho versus a team from the ACC.

BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – Since 1997, the WAC has been an official part of the Bowl Championship Series. The WAC champion will receive an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games if ranked in the top 12 of the BCS Standings or if ranked in the top 16 of the BCS Standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls. The BCS Standings are determined by a formula involving polls and computer rankings. This year’s National Championship Game will be played in Miami on Jan. 8, 2009.

WAC OWNS THIRD BEST SIX-YEAR BOWL WINNING PERCENTAGE – Over the last six years, the WAC has the third best winning percentage in bowl games of any conference in the nation. The WAC has sent 22 teams to postseason games from 2002-07 and those teams won 54.5 percent of their games with a 12-10 record. WAC teams won one of four bowl games in 2007, three of four games in 2006, one of three games in 2005, two of four games in 2004, three of four in 2003 and two of three in 2002. During this six-year span, WAC teams are 7-4 in bowl games against teams from conferences that have an automatic berth into the BCS.

WAC TOPS NATION IN ALL-TIME BOWL RECORDS – The WAC’s nine teams have an all-time record of 33-27-2 (.548) in bowl games. That winning percentage is the best among the 11 FBS conferences based on current membership. The ACC is second at .529 followed by the SEC (.528) and Pac-10 (.523).

WAC TRIO WITH 140 WINS – Boise State, Fresno State and Hawai‘i have combined for 140 victories since the 2003 season. That total is the fifth most of any FBS conference’s top trio.

TOP STAT LEADERS – Following are the returning stat leaders in the WAC for 2008. Nevada’s Luke Lippincott returns for his senior season after rushing for a WAC-best 109.2 yards per game last year, 25th nationally. San Jose State’s Kevin Jurovich returns for his final year and was second in the WAC and ninth in the nation in receiving yards with 98.6 per game and was fourth in the WAC and 13th nationally in receptions per game with 7.1. New Mexico State senior quarterback Chase Holbrook was second in the WAC and eighth nationally in total offense with 322.6 yards per game while Nevada sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick was third in the WAC and 10th in the nation in passing efficiency (150.8) last year. On the defensive side, Hawai‘i linebacker Solomon Elimimian was third in the WAC and 14th nationally in tackles with 10.8 stops per game as a junior. Fresno State senior Jon Monga and Hawai‘i senior David Veikune are the top two returning sack leaders with 7.0 each last year.

RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS – Of the 28 first-team all-WAC players in 2007, 11 return for the 2008 season. Hawai‘i returns five of the 11 in junior offensive lineman John Estes, senior defensive lineman David Veikune, senior linebacker Solomon Elimimian, senior linebacker Adam Leonard and senior place kicker Dan Kelly. Louisiana Tech and Nevada return two apiece as the Bulldogs bring back junior defensive back Antonio Baker and senior punter Chris Keagle while the Wolf Pack returns senior offensive lineman Dominic Green and senior running back Luke Lippincott. Boise State returns two-time first-teamer Ian Johnson, a senior running back while Fresno State tight end Bear Pascoe is coming back for his senior season as well. There were 29 second-team players, and 13 of those return to action this year. Idaho and San Jose State have the most second-team players returning with three each though Idaho’s Shiloh Keo was a second-team selection at both defensive back and special teams. Boise State and Louisiana Tech have two and Fresno State, New Mexico State and Utah State return one each.

TEAMS RACK UP VICTORIES – Since the 2003 football season, the WAC’s top teams have established themselves as some of the most successful programs west of the Mississippi River. Boise State has won 56 games over the last five years while Hawai‘i has 45 wins, Fresno State has 39 and Nevada has 34. Only USC (59) has won more than Boise State. There are 53 Division IA programs west of the Mississippi that include all of the teams from the WAC, Big 12, Mountain West and Pac-10 and several teams from the Big Ten, Conference USA, SEC and Sun Belt.

BOWL OPPONENTS – Of the 37 non-conference matchups, 17 are against teams that played in bowl games last year and eight are at WAC home sites. Seven teams in the WAC play at least one non-conference opponent that competed in a bowl last year while Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai‘i and Utah State are playing a WAC-high three bowl opponents each. Louisiana Tech and Nevada are playing two each while New Mexico State is playing one.

Hawai‘i at Florida (Capital One), Aug. 30

Mississippi State (Liberty) at Louisiana Tech, Aug. 30

Fresno State at Rutgers (GMAC),Sept. 1

Louisiana Tech at Kansas (Orange), Sept. 6

Texas Tech (Gator) at Nevada, Sept. 6

Utah State at Oregon (Sun), Sept. 6

Bowling Green (GMAC) at Boise State, Sept. 13

Nevada at Missouri (Cotton), Sept. 13

Utah (Poinsettia) at Utah State, Sept. 13

Wisconsin (Outback) at Fresno State, Sept. 13

Hawai‘i at Oregon State (Emerald), Sept. 13

Boise State at Oregon (Sun), Sept. 20

New Mexico (New Mexico) at New Mexico State, Sept. 27

Fresno State at UCLA (Las Vegas), Sept. 27

Brigham Young (Las Vegas) at Utah State, Oct. 3

Boise State at Southern Mississippi (Papajohns.com), Oct. 11

Cincinnati (Papajohns.com) at Hawai‘i, Dec. 6

NEW COACH – The WAC welcomes one new head coach this year as Hawai‘i’s Greg McMackin was promoted from defensive coordinator. McMackin, 59, was named the 21st head coach at Hawai‘i after June Jones left after nine seasons to go to SMU. McMackin served two stints as the Warriors’ defensive coordinator in 1999 and 2007, the latter of which UH improved from 93rd nationally in total defense to 33rd. In McMackin’s first stint, the Warriors finished 9-4, won the Jeep O‘ahu Bowl and became the NCAA’s all-time turnaround team after a winless 0-12 season the year prior. His defense that season improved from 109th to 35th nationally. Between his two stints on the Warrior staff, McMackin spent three years with the National Football League’s San Francisco 49ers as associate head coach and linebackers coach under Dennis Erickson from 2003-05.

COACHES MOVING UP RECORD LISTS – A couple of WAC coaches are working their way up the NCAA coaching record lists. Nevada head coach Chris Ault will begin his 24th season as a head coach and is 191-85-1, the fifth winningest active coach in the FBS. San Jose State’s Dick Tomey is the seventh winningest active coach as he begins his fourth year with the Spartans and 28th overall with a record of 175-129-7. Tomey previously won 63 games at Hawai‘i from 1977-86 and 95 games at Arizona from 1987-2000. Tomey has coached 311 games, the fourth most among active coaches. In WAC games only, Fresno State head coach Pat Hill has 60 conference victories, the fourth most in league history while Tomey enters the 2008 season with 44 WAC wins, the seventh most.

TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES

Boise State Broncos (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Freshman Kellen Moore was tabbed the Broncos’ starting quarterback last week and will become the first freshman in Boise State history to start a season opener ... senior RB Ian Johnson has 45 rushing TDs and needs 13 more to become the WAC’s all-time leader ... junior WR Jeremy Childs returns this year after setting a school record with 82 catches ... its 23-3 record the past two years is tied with Ohio State for the best in the nation ... is 52-4 all-time in WAC games ... has won 43 consecutive regular season home games, including 34 straight in conference ... has won 32 of its last 33 home games, the best home winning percentage in the nation since 2003 ... is the highest scoring team in the nation since 2000 averaging 41.81 points over 101 games.

(NR/25) Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Is opening its season on Sept. 1 for the third straight year ... the game against Rutgers is the first ever for the Bulldogs against a Big East team and the furthest east they have ever played ... this is the fifth of six consecutive games dating back to last year that will be shown on an ESPN network ... has a three-game winning streak entering the game, the longest current streak by any WAC team ... Fresno State tied Marshall for least number of interceptions in the nation last year with four ... senior QB Tom Brandstater is 14th in passing efficiency among returning quarterbacks in the nation ... sophomore RB Ryan Mathews scored 14 rushing touchdowns last year, tied for the most in the nation by any freshman back.

Hawai‘i Warriors (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Is opening on the road for just the fifth time in the last 32 years ... plays at SEC foe Florida this week, marking the debut of Greg McMackin as head coach of the Warriors ... Hawai‘i’s 13-game winning streak was snapped in the Sugar Bowl last year against an SEC team (top-ranked Georgia) ... UH is 3-7 versus SEC teams, 0-3 on the road ... JC transfer Brent Rausch was picked as the starter at quarterback ... the Warriors led the nation in scoring last year with 43.4 points per game ... its 23-4 record the past two years is tied with LSU for the third best in the nation ... has a school-record 15-game WAC winning streak ... has won 22 of its last 24 games and a school-record eight straight on the road ... plays six road games this year, the most since 2003.

Idaho Vandals (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Opens the season at Arizona where in 2001, the Vandals scored 29 points in the fourth quarter (the second most given up in a quarter by the Wildcats), but came up just short, 36-29 ... UI returns two of its top freshmen from last year in QB Nathan Enderle and RB Deonte’ Jackson ... Enderle threw for 1,787 yards and 10 touchdowns while Jackson rushed for 1,175 yards and scored seven TDs in 2007 ... was the only WAC team to not have a receiver break the 100-yard mark for receiving yards this season ... has lost 10 games in a row, tied for the longest streak in the nation (SMU, Minnesota) ... has lost eight straight road games ... senior C Adam Korby has made 35 consecutive starts, the longest current streak by any WAC player.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Hosts Mississippi State in its opener ... it is the first time that an SEC team has played in the 41-year history of Joe Aillet Stadium ... senior Taylor Bennett has been named the starter at quarterback for Tech ... Bennett transferred from Georgia Tech where last year he led the Yellow Jackets to the 2007 Humanitarian Bowl (a 40-28 loss to Fresno State) ... Bennett started all 13 games last year for Georgia Tech before earning his degree in international affairs ... he is eligible to play this year after receiving an academic waiver from the NCAA to pursue a master’s degree in business information ... Tech fumbled the ball away on its opening drive in its last three games of the 2007 season.

Nevada Wolf Pack (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Hosts Grambling State on Saturday and the Tigers’ marching band will perform in an extended halftime ... sophomore Colin Kaepernick has been named the starting quarterback for the game, but junior Nick Graziano will also get playing time ... senior Luke Lippincott’s 18 touchdowns (15 rushing, 3 receiving) last year were the most by a WAC player in 2007 ... Nevada opens the season with two home games (Texas Tech next week) for the first time since 1994 ... has lost its last four season openers ... Nevada is 19-5 at home since head coach Chris Ault returned to the sidelines in 2004 ... Ault was the quarterback in a win over UCSB in 1966 when Nevada played its first ever game at Mackay Stadium.

New Mexico State Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Does not open its season until Thursday, Sept. 4 when it hosts Nicholls State ... senior WR Chris Williams returns after missing five games last year with a shoulder injury ... in eight games, he had 56 receptions for 772 yards and 11 touchdowns ... senior Chase Holbrook has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game 18 times in his previous two seasons ... he has 60 career TD passes, the most in NMSU history ... his 8,485 career yards and the third most of any active player in the country ... junior A.J. Harris is the school’s all-time career leader in receptions with 191 ... after a 4-4 start last year, the Aggies lost their last five games.

San Jose State Spartans (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Senior RB Yonus Davis is returning for a sixth season after being granted a hardship exemption ... Davis played minimally last year after rushing for 1,007 yards in 2006 ... junior Myles Eden is expected to start at quarterback after throwing for 30 yards and rushing for 117 yards in six games last year ... has won 12 of its last 14 home games ... is opening at home for just the fifth time in the last 21 years and has won its last two season-opening home games ... has won 16 of its last 27 games ... has put together two consecutive conference seasons of at least .500 for the first time since joining the WAC in 1996 ... head coach Dick Tomey is the first vice-president of the American Football Coaches Association this season.

Utah State Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)

Opens at UNLV and is looking for its first three-game road winning streak since the 1996-97 seasons ... won its last two games of 2007 and is looking for its first three-game overall winning streak since 2001 ... this is the second straight season that UNLV and Utah State have played in their season openers ... for the third straight year, the Aggies play three Mountain West Conference teams (UNLV, BYU and Utah) ... OT Derek Hoke at 6’9” is tied for the second tallest player in the country this season ... USU C Ryan Tonnemacher and UNLV QB/DB Travis Dixon were high school teammates in Chandler, Ariz. at Hamilton HS, where they led the Huskies to the Arizona State 5A championship in 2004.