Mountain West Conference

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"Mountain West" redirects here. For the geographic region of the United States, see Mountain States. For other uses, see Mountain west.
For the former women's athletic conference, see Mountain West Athletic Conference.
Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference logo
Established1999
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision I
SubdivisionFBS
Members11
Sports fielded
  • 18
    • men's: 8
    • women's: 10
RegionWestern United States
HeadquartersColorado Springs, Colorado
CommissionerCraig Thompson (since 1999)
Websitethemw.com
Locations
Mountain West Conference locations

The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations in July 1999. Geographically, the MW covers a broad expanse of the Western United States, with member schools located in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Craig Thompson has served as Commissioner of the MW since its founding in 1999.[1]

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, the University of Utah, and the University of Wyoming. Before forming the Mountain West Conference, seven of its eight charter members had been longtime members of the Western Athletic Conference, and half of these had been charter members of that conference from 1962. Overall, each school that has ever been either a full or football-only member of the MW spent at least three years in the WAC before joining the Mountain West.

History[edit]

Locations of Mountain West Conference members.
Craig Thompson was hired as the inaugural commissioner of the Mountain West on October 15, 1998; he had been commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference.

Genesis[edit]

The creation of the MW was a delayed aftereffect of the 1996 NCAA conference realignment, which had initially been triggered two years earlier when the Big Eight Conference agreed to merge with four members of the Southwest Conference (SWC) to create the Big 12 Conference, which would begin competition in the 1996–97 school year.

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 Jose State University and UNLV, plus the University of Tulsa, an NCAA football independent and otherwise a member of the Missouri Valley Conference; the WAC's 16 teams were divided into four four-team "quadrants", two of which rotated between the Mountain and Pacific Divisions every two years. However, the newly expanded WAC was soon wracked by tension between the established and new members.[2]

In spring 1998, BYU and Utah proposed a permanent split into two eight-team divisions; the proposal would have forced some schools into an unnatural alignment because of the geographic distribution of the conference.[2] Air Force was the most strident opponent of this proposal, threatening to become an independent.[2] Soon after the proposal by BYU and Utah, the presidents of Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, Utah, and Wyoming met at Denver International Airport to discuss their future, and they agreed to break away from the WAC to form a new conference,[2] they invited the WAC members New Mexico, San Diego State, and UNLV to join them in what became the Mountain West Conference.

The next move for the MW came in 2005, when the conference added TCU, who had spent the previous four seasons in Conference USA (C-USA).

Early-2010s realignment[edit]

See also: 2010–13 Mountain West Conference realignment

On June 11, 2010, Boise State University agreed to join the conference as its tenth member. 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). Both schools accepted and would become the tenth and eleventh members of the league.[3][4] BYU announced on August 31, 2010 that it would leave the Mountain West Conference and go Independent in football and become a member of the West Coast Conference (WCC) in other sports starting in 2011.[5] On November 29, 2010, TCU announced all athletic teams would move to the Big East Conference effective in 2012.[6] (Less than a year later, on October 10, 2011, TCU announced it would not join the Big East but would join the Big 12, home to fellow former SWC members Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech, and formerly Texas A&M, in 2012 instead.)[7] On December 10, 2010, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa accepted a bid to become the 10th member of the conference for football only;[8] these changes would leave the Mountain West Conference with 10 teams for the 2012 football season.

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. However, two of the three schools that qualified are no longer with the conference.

On October 14, 2011, the Mountain West and C-USA announced a plan for a football only alliance.[9] 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.[10] However, when the two conferences discussed their plans with the NCAA, they were told that due to NCAA rules, they would forfeit substantial revenues. Specifically, the new conference would receive only one automatic bid to NCAA championships; at least one of the former conferences would lose future revenue distributions from the NCAA men's basketball tournament; and at least one former conference would not be able to collect exit fees from any members that departed to join the new conference;[11] as a result, the Mountain West and C-USA backed away from a full merger. In late March of that year, the commissioners of both conferences stated that all 16 schools had entered into binding agreements to form a new "association",[12] although the Mountain West and C-USA would have apparently remained separate legal entities.[11] In the end, this alliance never materialized due to both conferences soon adding new teams.

On May 2, 2012, San Jose State and Utah State agreed to join the conference for the 2013–14 academic year. On December 31 of that year, Boise State announced that it had backed out of its previously announced move to the Big East for football and the Big West for other sports, and would remain in the MW.[13]

On January 16, 2013, San Diego State accepted an offer to remain/return to the Mountain West Conference in all sports. Keeping SDSU in the conference gives the Mountain West 12 football members, allowing for a Championship Game to be held; the first championship game took place on December 7, 2013.[14]

Potential further expansion[edit]

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. While Thompson said that BYU had not contacted the conference, the report indicated that BYU would be open to an MW return, at least in non-football sports, should Gonzaga join.[15] A later Union-Tribune report indicated that talks were advanced enough that the conference's presidents planned a vote on an invitation to Gonzaga during the MW men's and women's basketball tournaments in Las Vegas, but decided to delay the vote until after the Final Four.[16] However, on April 2, the day of the Division I men's title game, Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth notified the MW, the WCC, and media that the school would remain in the WCC for the immediate future.[17]

Member schools[edit]

Current members[edit]

Institution Location Founded Enrollment Endowment Nickname Colors Joined
United States Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, Colorado 1954 4,237 $47 million Falcons           1999
Boise State University Boise, Idaho 1932 25,540 $107.9 million Broncos           2011
California State University, Fresno Fresno, California 1911 24,409 $161.5 million Bulldogs           2012
Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado 1870 33,877 $355.9 million Rams           1999
University of Nevada, Reno Reno, Nevada 1874 21,657 $363.8 million Wolf Pack           2012
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Paradise, Nevada 1957 30,471 $278.5 million Rebels           1999
University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico 1889 26,278 $452.5 million Lobos           1999
San Diego State University San Diego, California 1897 34,828 $293 million Aztecs           1999
San Jose State University San Jose, California 1857 33,409 $150.1 million Spartans                2013
Utah State University Logan, Utah 1888 27,932 $375.4 million Aggies                2013
University of Wyoming Laramie, Wyoming 1886 12,397 $550.9 million Cowboys & Cowgirls           1999

Affiliate members[edit]

Institution Location Founded Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined Sport Primary
conference
Colorado College Colorado Springs, Colorado 1874 2,131 Tigers           2014 soccer (W) Southern Collegiate
(NCAA D-III)
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Honolulu, Hawai'i 1907 18,865 Rainbow Warriors                     2012 football Big West

Former members[edit]

Institution Location Founded Nickname Joined Left Current
conference
Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 1875 Cougars 1999 2011 West Coast /
Independent (football only)
Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas 1873 Horned Frogs 2005 2012 Big 12
University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 1850 Utes 1999 2011 Pac-12

Membership timeline[edit]

Colorado CollegeUtah State UniversitySan Jose State UniversityUniversity of Nevada, RenoUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaCalifornia State University, FresnoBoise State UniversityTexas Christian UniversityUniversity of WyomingUniversity of UtahSan Diego State UniversityUniversity of New MexicoUniversity of Nevada, Las VegasColorado State UniversityBrigham Young UniversityUnited States Air Force Academy

 Full members   Associate members (football only)   Associate members (other) 

NCAA team championships[edit]

Excluded from this list are all national championships earned outside the scope of NCAA competition, including Division I FBS football titles, women's AIAW championships (17), equestrian titles (0), and retroactive Helms Athletic Foundation titles.[18]

School Total Men Women Co-ed
San Jose State 10 7 3 0
Wyoming 3 1 0 2
Fresno State 2 1 1 0
New Mexico 3 0 2 1
UNLV 2 2 0 0
Colorado State 1 1 0 0
Boise State 1 1 0 0
San Diego State 1 1 0 0
Air Force 0 0 0 0
Nevada 0 0 0 0
Utah State 0 0 0 0

See also: List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships, List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships, and NCAA Division I FBS Conferences

Sports[edit]

The Mountain West Conference sponsors championship competition in eight men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[19] Hawai'i is only an associate member for football, and Colorado College is only an associate member for women's soccer.

Men's sports[edit]

Member Baseball Basket­ball Cross
country 		Football Golf Tennis Track
& Field
Indoor 		Track
& Field
Outdoor 		Total
MW
Sports
Air Force Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Boise State Red XN[a] Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 7
Fresno State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Colorado State Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY 6
Nevada Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN 5
UNLV Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN 5
New Mexico Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
San Diego State Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Red XN 5
San Jose State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY 7
Utah State Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 7
Wyoming Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY 6
Totals 7 11 8 11 11 8 8 8 70
Affiliate Members
Hawai'i Green tickY 1
  1. ^ Boise State has announced plans to add baseball in the 2020 season (2019–20 school year).[20]

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Mountain West Conference which are played by MW members

School Fencing[a] Gymna­stics Ice
hockey		 Lac­rosse Rifle[b] Skiing[c] Soccer Swimming
& diving		 Water
polo		 Wrestling
Air Force Indep­endent MPSF Atlantic Hockey SoCon PRC WAC WAC WWPA Big 12
Fresno State Big 12
Nevada PRC
UNLV WAC WAC
New Mexico RMISA[d] C-USA[d]
San Diego State Pac-12
San Jose State WAC GCC
Wyoming WAC Big 12
  1. ^ Fencing is officially a coeducational team sport, although a few schools field only a women's team. Air Force, like most NCAA fencing schools, has a coed team with men's and women's squads.
  2. ^ Rifle is technically a men's sport, but men's, women's, and coed teams all compete against each other. Air Force and Nevada both field coed teams.
  3. ^ Skiing is officially a coeducational team sport.
  4. ^ a b New Mexico will drop skiing and men's soccer after the 2018–19 school year.[21]

Women's sports[edit]

Member Basket­ball Cross
country 		Golf Soccer Softball Swimming
& diving 		Tennis Track
& Field
Indoor 		Track
& Field
Outdoor 		Volley­ball Total
MW
Sports
Air Force Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Boise State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Fresno State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Colorado State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Nevada Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
UNLV Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
New Mexico Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
San Diego State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
San Jose State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 10
Utah State Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Wyoming Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 9
Totals 11 11 9 11 9 10 11 11 11 11 104
Affiliate Members
Colorado College Green tickY 1

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Mountain West Conference which are played by MW members

School Beach
volleyball		 Equestrian Fencing[a] Gymnastics Lacrosse Rifle[b] Rowing Skiing[c] Water
polo
Air Force Independent MPSF PRC
Boise State Independent MRGC
Fresno State Independent MPSF
Colorado State WWPA
Nevada PRC
New Mexico Independent[d] RMISA[d]
San Diego State MPSF American Golden Coast
San Jose State Independent MPSF MPSF
Utah State MRGC
  1. ^ Fencing is officially a coeducational team sport, although a few schools field only a women's team. Air Force, like most NCAA fencing schools, has a coed team with men's and women's squads.
  2. ^ Rifle is technically a men's sport, but men's, women's, and coed teams all compete against each other. Air Force and Nevada both field coed teams.
  3. ^ Skiing is officially a coeducational sport with teams having men's and women's squads.
  4. ^ a b New Mexico will drop beach volleyball and skiing after the 2018–19 school year.[21]

Conference champions[edit]

Main article: List of Mountain West Conference champions

Rivalries[edit]

Conference (football)[edit]

Teams Rivalry name Trophy Meetings
(last)		 Record Series
leader
Air Force Colorado State Air Force–Colorado State football rivalry Ram-Falcon Trophy 57
(2018)		 35–21–1 Air Force
Hawai'i Air Force–Hawai'i football rivalry Kuter Trophy 21
(2016)		 13–7–1 Air Force
Boise State Fresno State Boise State–Fresno State football rivalry Milk Can 22
(2018)		 15–7 Boise State
Nevada Boise State–Nevada football rivalry — 43
(2018)		 30–13 Boise State
Fresno State Boise State Boise State–Fresno State football rivalry Milk Can 22
(2018)		 7–15 Boise State
Hawai'i Fresno State–Hawai'i football rivalry The Golden Screwdriver 51
(2018)		 28–22–1 Fresno State
San Diego State Battle for the Oil Can Old Oil Can 58
(2018)		 25–29–4 San Diego State
San Jose State Fresno State–San Jose State football rivalry Valley Cup 82
(2018)		 42–37–3 Fresno State
Colorado State Air Force Air Force–Colorado State football rivalry Ram-Falcon Trophy 57
(2018)		 21–35–1 Air Force
Wyoming Border War Bronze Boot 110
(2018)		 58–47–5 Colorado State
Hawai'i Air Force Air Force–Hawai'i football rivalry Kuter Trophy 21
(2016)		 7–13–1 Air Force
Fresno State Fresno State–Hawai'i football rivalry The Golden Screwdriver 51
(2018)		 22–28–1 Fresno State
Wyoming Hawai'i–Wyoming football rivalry Paniolo Trophy 24
(2018)		 10–14 Wyoming
Nevada Boise State Boise State–Nevada football rivalry — 43
(2018)		 13–30 Boise State
UNLV Battle for Nevada Fremont Cannon 44
(2018)		 27–17 Nevada
UNLV Nevada Battle for Nevada Fremont Cannon 44
(2018)		 17–27 Nevada
San Diego State Fresno State Battle for the Oil Can Old Oil Can 58
(2018)		 29–25–4 San Diego State
San Jose State El Camino Real Rivalry — 42
(2018)		 21–19–2 San Diego State
San Jose State Fresno State Fresno State–San Jose State football rivalry Valley Cup 82
(2018)		 37–42–3 Fresno State
San Diego State El Camino Real Rivalry — 42
(2018)		 19–21–2 San Diego State
Utah State Wyoming Bridger's Battle Bridger Rifle 69
(2018)		 39–26–4 Utah State
Wyoming Colorado State Border War Bronze Boot 110
(2018)		 47–58–5 Colorado State
Hawai'i Hawai'i–Wyoming football rivalry Paniolo Trophy 24
(2018)		 14–10 Wyoming
Utah State Bridger's Battle Bridger Rifle 69
(2018)		 26–39–4 Utah State

Non-conference (including other sports)[edit]

Schools First
meeting		 Game Trophy Reigning champion
(last meeting)		 Next
meeting
Air Force / Army / Navy 1972 Commander-in-Chief's Trophy Army
(2018)		 2019
Boise State Idaho 1971 Battle of Idaho Governor's Cup Boise State
(2010)
Colorado State Colorado 1893 Rocky Mountain Showdown Centennial Cup Colorado
(2018)		 2019
New Mexico Arizona 1908 Arizona–New Mexico football rivalry Kit Carson Rifle Arizona
(2015)
New Mexico New Mexico State 1894 Rio Grande Rivalry New Mexico
(2018)		 2019
San Jose State Stanford 1900 Bill Walsh Legacy Game Stanford
(2013)
Utah State / Brigham Young / Utah 1971 Beehive Boot Utah
(2016)
Utah State Brigham Young 1922 Battle for The Old Wagon Wheel The Old Wagon Wheel Utah State
(2018)		 2019
Utah State Utah 1892 Battle of the Brothers Utah
(2015)

Football[edit]

Divisions[edit]

See also: Mountain West Conference Football 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. This first championship game took place on December 7, 2013 at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California, the home stadium of Fresno State, the divisional winner with the higher BCS ranking;[22] each team plays five divisional games and three cross-divisional contests annually.[23] The 2015 championship game featured the Air Force Academy Falcons against the San Diego State University Aztecs; the 2016 championship game featured the San Diego State University Aztecs against the University of Wyoming Cowboys.

Mountain Division West Division
Air Force Fresno State
Boise State Hawaiʻi
Colorado State Nevada
New Mexico UNLV
Utah State San Diego State
Wyoming San Jose State
  • No other MW sport is split into divisions — including women's soccer, the only other conference sport with 12 competing schools (with Colorado College as the 12th member).

Bowl games[edit]

The Mountain West Conference has agreements with six bowls for 2014–15. In addition, the MW champion has access to the so-called "New Year's Six" bowls associated with the College Football Playoff (CFP) under either of the following conditions:

  • It is one of the four highest-ranked teams overall, as determined by the CFP selection committee. In this case, it will play in one of the two bowl games that serve as CFP semifinals.
  • It is not a CFP semifinalist, but is the highest-ranked conference champion from the so-called "Group of Five" conferences (American, C-USA, MAC, MW, Sun Belt), as determined by the selection committee. In this case, it will receive an "at-large" berth in one of the other four "New Year's Six" games.

In the first season of the CFP in 2014, Boise State received the "Group of Five" at-large berth, landing in and winning the Fiesta Bowl.

Pick Name Location Opposing
conference 		Opposing
pick
1 Las Vegas Bowl Las Vegas, Nevada Pac-12 6
Non-specific Hawai'i Bowl Honolulu, Hawaii C-USA, BYU (2019) Non-specific
Non-specific Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise, Idaho MAC Non-specific
Non-specific New Mexico Bowl Albuquerque, New Mexico C-USA Non-specific
Non-specific Arizona Bowl Tucson, Arizona Sun Belt 5
Conditional* Cactus Bowl Phoenix, Arizona Big 12 or Pac-12 6 (Big 12) or 7 (Pac-12)
Conditional* San Francisco Bowl Santa Clara, California Big Ten or Pac-12 Non-specific (Big Ten) or 4 (Pac-12)
  • If Hawai'i is bowl eligible and not MW champions or selected for a CFP bowl, they will receive a berth in the Hawai'i Bowl.
    • The MW will only send a team to the Cactus or San Francisco Bowls if one of the primary conferences affiliated with those bowls is unable to fill their slots.

Bowl records[edit]

As of the 2018–19 bowl games

School Appearances W L T Win
%		 BCS/
NY6		 National
championships
Fresno State 28 14 14 0 .500 0–0 0
Air Force 26 12 13 1 .481 0–0 0
Boise State 19[a] 12 6 0 .667 3–0 2 — 1958 (NJCAA), 1980 (NCAA Division I-AA[b])
Colorado State 17 6 11 0 .353 0–0 0
San Diego State 17 8 9 0 .471 0–0 3 — 1966–1968 (NCAA College Division[c])
Nevada 16 6 10 0 .375 0–0 0
Wyoming 15 7 8 0 .467 0–0 0
Utah State 13 5 8 0 .385 0–0 0
New Mexico 13 4 8 1 .346 0–0 0
Hawaiʻi 12 6 6 0 .500 0–1 0
San Jose State 10 7 3 0 .700 0–0 0
UNLV 3 2 1 0 .667 0–0 0
  1. ^ Appeared in the 2018 First Responder Bowl, but the game was canceled midway through the first quarter due to lightning.
  2. ^ In 2006, "Division I-AA" was renamed "Division I Football Championship Subdivision" or "Division I FCS" for short.
  3. ^ The "NCAA College Division" was split into today's "NCAA Division II" and "NCAA Division III" in 1973. The NCAA considers all College Division championships to be part of the histories of Division II championships in the same sports.

Bowl Challenge Cup[edit]

ESPN created the Bowl Challenge Cup in 2002 for the conference that had the best college football bowl record among Division I Football Bowl Subdivision conferences; the conference has won it four times, more than any other conference, by finishing with bowl game records of 2-1 in 2004–05,[24] 4-1 in 2007–08,[25] 4-1 in 2009–10,[26] and 4-1 in 2010–11.[27]

Men's Basketball[edit]

The Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conferences hold an annual challenge series that was renewed in the 2015–16 season after a two-year hiatus; the series began in the 2009-10 season but temporarily ended when the original contract ran out after the 2012-13 season, During the first four seasons of the series, it involved all members of the MW and an equal number of the 10 MVC teams in basketball. With the MW now having 11 basketball members to the MVC's 10, the renewed series involves all MVC teams, with one MW team sitting out.

The first game was on November 13, 2009, featuring the Bradley Braves and the BYU Cougars in Provo and it concluded on December 23 with the Wyoming Cowboys visiting the Northern Iowa Panthers in Cedar Falls, Iowa; the challenge is similar to the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, which pits men's basketball teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten Conference.[28]

NCAA tournament records[edit]

School Appearances W L Win
%		 Wins per
appearance		 National
championships
Utah State 21 6 23 .207 0.286 0
UNLV 20 33 19 .635 1.650 1 (1990)
New Mexico 15 8 16 .333 0.545 0
Wyoming 14 9 19 .321 0.643 1 (1943)
Colorado State 10 4 11 .267 0.375 0
San Diego State 10 6 10 .375 0.444 0
Nevada 8 6 8 .429 0.750 0
Boise State 7 0 7 .000 0.000 0
Fresno State 5 2 5 .286 0.400 0
Air Force 4 0 4 .000 0.000 0
San Jose State 3 0 3 .000 0.000 0

Women's Basketball[edit]

NCAA tournament records[edit]

School Appearances W L Win
%		 Wins per
appearance		 National
championships
San Diego State 9 6 9 .400 0.571 0
UNLV 8 3 8 .273 0.375 0
New Mexico 8 3 8 .273 0.375 0
Fresno State 6 0 6 .000 0.000 0
Colorado State 5 5 5 .500 1.000 0
Boise State 2 0 2 .000 0.000 0
Wyoming 1 0 1 .000 0.000 0
Air Force 0 0 0 – 0.000 0
Nevada 0 0 0 – 0.000 0
San Jose State 0 0 0 – 0.000 0
Utah State 0 0 0 – 0.000 0

Facilities[edit]

School Football
stadium 		Capacity Basketball
arena 		Capacity Baseball
stadium 		Capacity
Air Force Falcon Stadium 46,692 Clune Arena 5,858 Falcon Baseball Field 1,000
Boise State Albertsons Stadium 36,387 Taco Bell Arena 12,480 Non-baseball school
Fresno State Bulldog Stadium 41,031 Save Mart Center 15,544 Pete Beiden Field 5,422
Colorado State Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium 41,200 Moby Arena 8,745 Non-baseball school
Hawai'i Aloha Stadium 50,000 Football-only member
Nevada Mackay Stadium 30,000 Lawlor Events Center 11,784 William Peccole Park 3,000
UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium[a] 36,800 Thomas & Mack Center (men)
Cox Pavilion (women) 		18,776
2,500 		Earl Wilson Stadium 3,000
New Mexico Dreamstyle Stadium 39,224 Dreamstyle Arena - The Pit[b] 15,411 Santa Ana Star Field 1,000
San Diego State SDCCU Stadium 54,000[c] Viejas Arena 12,414 Tony Gwynn Stadium 3,000
San Jose State CEFCU Stadium 30,456 Event Center Arena 5,000 San Jose Municipal Stadium 4,200
Utah State Maverik Stadium 25,513 Dee Glen Smith Spectrum 10,270 Non-baseball school
Wyoming War Memorial Stadium 30,514 Arena-Auditorium 15,028 Non-baseball school
Notes
  1. ^ Set to be replaced in 2020 by Las Vegas Stadium (capacity 65,000).
  2. ^ More commonly known as The Pit (stylized as The PIT).
  3. ^ Artificially reduced capacity; full capacity is 71,400.

Elevation[edit]

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 metres) above sea level; this impacts endurance in sports like football, soccer, and the distance races in track & field and swimming meets, and aerodynamics in baseball, softball, tennis, golf, and the discus and javelin throws. The Mountain West's institutions have the highest average elevations in NCAA Division I sports.

Campus and football stadium elevations[edit]

Schools in italics are single-sport members. In the case of women's soccer-only member Colorado College, "Stadium Elevation" refers to the school's soccer venue.

School Campus
Elevation (ft) 		Stadium
Elevation (ft)
Air Force Academy 7,258 6,621
Wyoming 7,198 7,215
Colorado College 6,053 6,053
New Mexico 5,174 5,100
Colorado State 5,007 5,190
Utah State 4,777 4,710
Nevada 4,564 4,610
Boise State 2,697 2,695
UNLV 2,024 1,600
San Diego State 433 25
Fresno State 338 335
Hawai'i 105 19
San Jose State 85 93

Elevation by conference[edit]

Conference Average
Campus Elevation (ft) 		Notes
Mountain West 3,596 3,305 for football schools, including Hawaiʻi
3,801 for women's soccer schools, including Colorado College
Big Sky 2,968
WAC 1,967
Summit League 1,295
Pac-12 1,205
  • Elevation data obtained from the USGS Geographic Names Information System

References[edit]

  1. ^ Murray, Chris (August 18, 2017). "Face of the Mountain West: Craig Thompson has been conference's anchor for 19 years". Reno Gazette-Journal. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Deinhart, Tom (September 14, 2011). "WAC a cautionary tale for superconferences". Rivals.com. Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  3. ^ "Fresno State, Nevada to remain in WAC until 2012". ESPN. 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  4. ^ Adelson, Andrea. "Utah State turned down invite to MWC". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  5. ^ "BYU to leave Mountain West Conference, join West Coast Conference in all sports except football". ESPN. 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-29.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  7. ^ "TCU Accepts Invitation To Join Big 12 Conference". TCU Athletic Department. October 10, 2011.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-10.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  9. ^ "Mountain West, Conference USA announce football-only alliance". ESPN. 2011-10-15. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  10. ^ "MWC, C-USA to form new league". CNN. February 13, 2012.
  11. ^ a b McMurphy, Brett (April 17, 2012). "Conference Mountain West merger "unlikely"". College Football Insider. CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  12. ^ McMurphy, Brett (March 28, 2012). "New C-USA, MWC league will be completed by early June". College Football Insider. CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  13. ^ McMurphy, Brett (December 31, 2012). "Boise State spurns Big East". ESPN. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  14. ^ Mountain West planning title game with 'addition' of SDSU
  15. ^ Zeigler, Mark (February 28, 2018). "Mountain West confirms it has talked expansion with ... Gonzaga". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  16. ^ Zeigler, Mark (March 7, 2018). "Is Gonzaga (and maybe BYU) really coming to the Mountain West?". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  17. ^ Meehan, Jim (April 2, 2018). "Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth says Zags staying in WCC". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, WA. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  18. ^ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/champs_records_book/Overall.pdf
  19. ^ "Mountain West Conference". Themwc.com. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  20. ^ "Gary Van Tol Named Boise State Head Baseball Coach" (Press release). Boise State Broncos. November 28, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  21. ^ a b Dyer, Jessica; Grammer, Geoff (July 19, 2018). "It's official: Four Lobo sports are gone". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  22. ^ Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports (2013-01-22). "Mountain West splits 12 football schools into six-team divisions". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  23. ^ "Mountain West Conference". Themwc.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  24. ^ 2007 Bowl Challenge Cup standings
  25. ^ Mountain West Posts Top Bowl Win Percentage Among FBS Subdivision Conferences
  26. ^ 2009-2010 Conference Bowl Wins
  27. ^ Adelson, Andrea. "Mountain West wins Bowl Challenge Cup". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  28. ^ "Missouri Valley, MWC to start basketball series". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 15, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2009.

External links[edit]

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