Mountain West Conference: A Comprehensive Overview

The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). "Mountain West" redirects here. For the geographic region of the United States, see Mountain states. The MW officially began operations on January 4, 1999.

Founding and Early Years

Led by the vision of Colorado State University President Dr., the Mountain West Conference was formed. Craig Thompson was hired as the inaugural commissioner of the Mountain West on October 15, 1998, and served until his retirement on December 31, 2022. Gloria Nevarez was later named Mountain West Commissioner on November 11, 2022. The charter members of the MW included the United States Air Force Academy, Brigham Young University, Colorado State University, San Diego State University, the University of New Mexico, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Utah and the University of Wyoming.

The formation of the MW was influenced by changes in other conferences. The Western Athletic Conference, which had initially announced plans to expand beyond its then-current 10 members to at least 12, ended up with even more potential expansion prospects. Ultimately, the WAC took in three of the four SWC schools left out of the Big 12 merger, Rice University, Southern Methodist University (SMU), and Texas Christian University (TCU). Three other schools were added to bring the total membership to 16, namely Big West Conference members San José State University and UNLV, plus the University of Tulsa, an NCAA football independent and otherwise a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. In spring of 1998, BYU and Utah proposed a permanent split into two eight-team divisions.

Conference Expansion and Realignment

The Mountain West has experienced several phases of expansion and realignment since its inception.

2010-2012: On June 11, 2010, Boise State University agreed to join the conference as its tenth member. However, on June 17, 2010, Utah announced it would be leaving the Mountain West to join what would become the Pac-12 Conference. On August 18, 2010, amidst rumors that BYU was considering leaving the Mountain West to go independent in football and rejoin the Western Athletic Conference in all other sports, the Mountain West Conference officially extended invitations to California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) and the University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada). On December 10, 2010. Hawaii Joins Mountain West Conference. July 1, 2011 - Boise State University officially became the newest member of the Mountain West. July 1, 2012 - Fresno State, Hawai‘i (football only) and the University of Nevada officially became the newest members of the Mountain West.

Read also: BMCU: Faith and Academics
2012 Conference Realignment Discussions: On October 14, 2011, the Mountain West and C-USA announced a plan for a football only alliance. On February 13, 2012, the two leagues announced that both conferences would be dissolving after the 2012-13 season to reform into one conference with at least 15 members for all sports, and a 16th team, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as a football-only member. However, when the two conferences discussed their plans with the NCAA, they were told that due to NCAA rules, they would forfeit substantial revenues. As a result, the Mountain West and C-USA backed away from a full merger. On May 2, 2012, San José State and Utah State agreed to join the conference for the 2013-14 academic year. On January 16, 2013, San Diego State accepted an offer to remain/return to the Mountain West Conference in all sports.
Future Expansion Considerations: In February 2018, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the MW was looking to expand in the near future. In the report, commissioner Craig Thompson revealed that the conference had discussed expansion with six schools, with WCC member Gonzaga (which has not sponsored football since World War II) the only school mentioned by name. Thompson added that Gonzaga could potentially join the MW as a full but non-football member as early as July 2018.
Pac-12 Conference Changes and MW Response: On June 30, 2022, UCLA and Southern Cal announced their departure from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big Ten Conference beginning in the 2024-25 academic year. After that announcement, San Diego State had been considered one of the top candidates for Pac-12 expansion. In September 2023, after a mass exodus from the Pac-12 left Oregon State and Washington State as its only remaining members, MW commissioner Gloria Nevarez began discussions with the two schools regarding various options for partnership, affiliation, or merger. On December 1, 2023, the conference announced that it would enter into a football scheduling agreement with the two schools for the 2024 season. All 12 Mountain West members will play one game against either Oregon State or Washington State next season, giving both schools three home games and three away games. On December 10, 2024 it was announced that UC Davis would join the Mountain West Conference in all sports except football, for which it will remain in the Big Sky Conference. January 3, 2025. Northern Illinois set to move to Mountain West as football-only member.

Member Institutions

Geographically, the MW covers a broad expanse of the Western United States, with member schools located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Hawaii.

Current Full Members

As of December 2024, the full member institutions of the Mountain West Conference are:

Read also: MACU Scholarship Landscape

United States Air Force Academy (Colorado)
Boise State University (Idaho)
Colorado State University
Fresno State University (California)
Grand Canyon University (Arizona) (Joining in 2025-2026)
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
University of Nevada, Reno
University of New Mexico
San Diego State University (California)
San Jose State University (California)
UC Davis (California) (Joining in 2026-2027, except football)
Utah State University
University of Wyoming

Affiliate Members

The Mountain West Conference also has several affiliate members that participate in specific sports:

Colorado College (women's soccer)
Northern Illinois University (football only) (Joining in 2025)
UTEP (To join Mountain West Conference)
Washington State University (baseball and women's swimming)

Conference Structure and Governance

Divisions and Championship Game

Beginning in 2013, the conference split into two divisions, named the "Mountain Division" and "West Division," of six teams each for football. The Mountain West also added a conference championship game, pitting the winners of the two divisions. The 2015 championship game featured the Air Force Academy Falcons against the San Diego State University Aztecs. On May 20, 2022, the conference approved a new football schedule format, set to take effect in the 2023 season. Under this format, the conference will remove divisions, and instead play a 2-6 format, where each team plays 2 designated rivals every year along with six separate 6-team rotations that flip every other year, such that every team will have at least one home game and one away game against every other team in a three-year cycle (less than the standard length of a college player's career).

Bowl Game Eligibility

During the era of football's Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which was replaced by the College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014, the MW champion qualified for a BCS bowl four times after the BCS formula was tweaked to allow teams from non-BCS conferences to play in BCS bowls if ranked in the top 12. Since the 2014 season, the Mountain West champion is eligible for an at-large berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic, Fiesta Bowl, or Peach Bowl, if it is the highest-ranked conference champion among the "Group of Five" conferences (which also includes The American, CUSA, MAC, and Sun Belt) in the final College Football Playoff rankings, if it is not in the top 4.

Achievements and Milestones

The Mountain West Conference has celebrated numerous achievements and milestones throughout its history. December 5, 2004 - Utah accepted an invitation to play in the 34th Annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. April 23, 2005 - The San Francisco 49ers selected Utah junior quarterback Alex Smith with the first pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. Smith’s selection as the overall No. June 28, 2005 - The Milwaukee Bucks selected Utah sophomore center Andrew Bogut as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. Utah is the only school in history to have the No.

January 2, 2009 - Utah rolled to a triumphant 31-17 victory over then fourth-ranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, marking the first time a non-automatic-qualifying BCS team had won two BCS bowl games. The Utes finished the season ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press and No. June 9, 2009 - The Washington Nationals selected San Diego State junior pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the first pick of the 2009 MLB Draft. The MW?is one of two conferences since 2000 to have the No. December 6, 2009 - TCU finished the 2009 college football season ranked No. June 13, 2010 - TCU won the rubber match vs. December 5, 2010 - TCU finished the 2010 college football season ranked No. January 1, 2011 - TCU held off then fourth-ranked Wisconsin in a 21-19 victory at the Rose Bowl.

April 26, 2018 - A league-record three student-athletes were selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. April 1, 2023 - San Diego State becomes first MW team to reach the NCAA Men’s Final Four. March 17, 2024 - The MW earns a league-record six NCAA bids when the NCAA men’s basketball bracket is announced. December 12, 2024 - Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty wins the Maxwell Award as the national player of the year and the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the nation. December 31, 2024 - In the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field, Boise State is the No. 3 seed and earned a first-round bye into the quarterfinals at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. The Broncos finished the season No. 9 in the CFP rankings, while UNLV was No. April 24, 2025 - Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is selected No. June 2025 - MW student-athletes combine for five national titles at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, third-most in the nation behind only the SEC and Big Ten.

Media Coverage

The Mountain West has established media partnerships to broadcast its athletic events.

Early Media Ventures: September 1, 2006 - The Mtn. August 27, 2008 - DIRECTV launched The Mtn. June 10, 2013 - The Mountain West, in collaboration with Campus Insiders (now Stadium), unveiled plans to dramatically enhance the MW Network, which was established in October 2012. Summer 2017 - Campus Insiders, 120 Sports and Sinclair Broadcasting combined forces to launch Stadium, the industry’s only all-platform sports network.
Current Media Rights Deals: January 9, 2020 - The Mountain West has agreed to six-year media rights deals with CBS Sports and Fox Sports for a combined $270 million. The agreements include football and men’s basketball. The deals begin in 2020-21 and run through the 2025-26 season. This marks the inaugural arrangement between the league and Fox, which will show the conference’s football championship game.

Innovations

The Mountain West has been at the forefront of innovation in college athletics. September 2, 2005 - The Mountain West was one of nine leagues that experimented with instant replay in college football. 2010 - Working with DVSport, MW designs innovative basketball replay system and begins usage during the 2010-11 season. June 2, 2014 - The Mountain West became the first conference to have student-athletes participate in a Board of Directors meeting.

Other Facts

The Mountain West's slogan is "Above the rest", and over half of the member institutions, plus women's soccer-only member Colorado College, are at more than 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) above sea level. This impacts endurance in sports like football, soccer, and the distance races in track & field and swimming meets; air resistance in sprints and horizontal jumps in track & field; and aerodynamics in baseball, softball, tennis, golf, and the discus and javelin throws.

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