FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University President James Hurley will serve as the 2022-23 Past Chair of the Western Athletic Conference Executive Committee. Utah Valley University President Astrid Tuminez was elected Chair, and California Baptist University President Ron Ellis will be Vice Chair.
Elections were part of last week’s WAC Board of Directors meeting.
The board also voted to strengthen its commitment to Tarleton and Utah Tech University by including them in all future WAC championships.
Dr. Hurley: “I look forward to working with my WAC colleagues to continue the momentum of the conference while helping Tarleton Texans achieve athletic and academic success. Special thanks to WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton and the WAC presidents for welcoming us three years ago.”
Since joining the WAC, Tarleton has earned bragging rights for the highest Academic Progress Rate (987) of any first-year school reclassifying to NCAA Division I.
The university set a WAC record in football attendance with more than 16,000 fans at Memorial Stadium for last fall’s Homecoming game, and women’s tennis finished the spring 2022 season undefeated, securing Tarleton’s first D-I conference championship.
The Texans faced two of the nation’s No. 1 seeds (one of only four teams) in this season’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
“Tarleton State is a talent magnet for some of the brightest minds and most gifted student-athletes,” Dr. Hurley said. “Our deeply accomplished faculty, staff and coaches give us an edge, and being in the WAC helps us keep it.”
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.