The Western Athletic Conference said it will trim the number of teams qualifying for both its men's and women's basketball tournaments from nine to eight as a cost-cutting measure.

Commissioner Karl Benson made the announcement yesterday following the end of the WAC's annual Board of Directors meeting in Las Vegas.

Benson said the move could come as soon as the March 2010 tournament but there was a chance it could begin in 2011. The WAC has held a so-called "play-in" or "pig-tail" game between the eighth and ninth seeds. This past season UH was the eighth seed in both the men's and women's tournaments.

Several other sports, including soccer, will also see their fields reduced, Benson said. In the case of soccer, six of the eight teams will qualify. Volleyball was previously reduced from nine to six.

There was no reduction in the size of football travel squads. Several conferences have either cut or looked at reductions. Currently, the WAC has a 65-player travel roster limit.

"We've tried to maintain the student-athlete experience," Benson said.

He said the conference is doing away with its basketball media day, which had been on hold last season, and is looking at ways to reduce the duration of other meetings. In addition, the WAC will hold future directors, council and coaching meetings in Las Vegas, which was described as "a central location." Some past meetings have been held in Phoenix, Maui, Half Moon Bay, Calif. and Coeur d'Alene Lakes, Idaho.

Benson said the WAC Office has pledged to trim $200,000 from its operating budget from what was described as "ancillary" expenses.