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Fallout from BYU's move to independence in football continues to affect its athletics programs. In this case, the school's women's softball team will soon be without a conference.

BYU's softball program, which left the Mountain West Conference on July 1 with all of the Cougars' other teams, will be part of the Western Athletic Conference for only the 2011-12 athletic season. After that, the Cougars will have to find a new home.

Why? Well, things have changed. Since the Cougars softball program joined the WAC, the conference has added enough new members that it doesn't need BYU to fill out its softball schedule.

"We have a philosophy and general policy to only have fully affiliated members to ensure our automatic [NCAA] qualifications," WAC commissioner Karl Benson said. "We would have eight members without BYU."

BYU was first invited to join the WAC when Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii left the conference. The departure of those schools left the WAC short of the required six programs needed for NCAA eligibility.

BYU's softball program was originally accepted by the WAC when the conference was courting all BYU's sports in 2010.

"Once that didn't materialize and BYU's softball was looking for a home, [BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe] made an offer," Benson said. "In light of some of our members departing, we had a need."

Once the University of Texas-Arlington, along with other new members Seattle, UT-San Antonio, Texas State and Denver joined the WAC, there was no longer a need for BYU.

Beginning this coming season, all other BYU sports, excluding football, which is independent, as well as track and men's volleyball, will compete in the West Coast Conference. Unfortunately for BYU, only four WCC schools play women's softball. Even with BYU, a sixth program needs to be added for the conference to become NCAA eligible.

"Softball is an interesting opportunity for a conference like ours," said WCC commissioner Jamie Zaninovich, adding that it is not likely that a current member of the conference would add the sport. "It is something we'd like to take a look at.

BYU softball coach Gordon Eakin has built a nationally prominent program that finished the 2010-11 season with a 40-18 record, a top-30 ranking and its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

"It is not the greatest situation," said Holmoe during BYU football's recent media day. "But we are working with the WCC … and now we need one more [school] to elevate up and play NCAA [softball] instead of just club. Maybe we can do that. There are some people working hard and diligently to make that happen. But it might not happen right away, so if there are softball fans out there that say, 'You killed your program,' I say, 'No, we went to the NCAA Tournament second round this year. We are really good. And we are good because we have a great coach and great players, not because we have a great league.' "