Mountain West Conference

athletic conference

The Mountain West Conference (abbreviated as either "MW" or "MWC") is a group of colleges and universities in the Western United States, who play NCAA Division I sports against one another. In football, the MW plays in the top-level Division I FBS.

Colorado State University playing football against the United States Air Force Academy

The league was formed in 1999 when eight schools split from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Most of the original members had been members of the WAC before it grew from 10 schools to 16 in 1996.

Due to a major realignment of Division I conferences, the MW and Conference USA announced plans to merge into one conference, possibly for the 2013–14 school year.[1] However, because of money issues, the conferences backed away from a full merger. They planned to form an alliance for scheduling and television purposes.[2] After both conferences added more schools, they backed out of the planned alliance.

During the 2020s conference realignment, the MW survived an attempted raid from the American Athletic Conference, which had courted four of its members,[3] but would later be raided by the Pac-12 Conference, which had lost all but two of its 12 members in 2024. In September 2024, the Pac-12 announced that Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State would join the Pac-12 in 2026.[4]

Current members

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Eleven schools are "full members", meaning that they play almost all of their sports in the MW. Departing schools are highlighted in pink.

School Location Type Joined MW Nickname
United States Air Force Academy
(Air Force)
USAF Academy, Colorado[a] Federal 1999 Falcons
Boise State University Boise, Idaho Public 2011 Broncos
California State University, Fresno
(Fresno State)
Fresno, California Public 2012 Bulldogs
Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Public 1999 Rams
University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada) Reno, Nevada Public 2012 Wolf Pack
University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Public 1999 Lobos
San Diego State University San Diego, California Public 1999 Aztecs
San Jose State University San Jose, California Public 2013 Spartans
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Las Vegas, Nevada[b] Public 1999 Rebels
Utah State University Logan, Utah Public 2013 Aggies
University of Wyoming Laramie, Wyoming Public 1999 Cowboys &
Cowgirls
  1. Almost all of the Air Force Academy grounds, including the cadet area and all athletic facilities, is outside the Colorado Springs city limits. The U.S. Census Bureau treats the Academy as "Air Force Academy, Colorado", and the U.S. Postal Service uses "USAF Academy, Colorado".
  2. The UNLV campus lies outside the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated area of Paradise, Nevada. The U.S. Postal Service uses "Las Vegas" as the postal address for all areas in the Las Vegas Valley that are outside of an incorporated city.

Associate members

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Two schools are "associate members", meaning that they play in the MW in some sports while playing most other sports in another league. Both schools play only one sport in the MW.

School Location Type Joined MW MW Sport Nickname Main Conference
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
(Hawaiʻi)
Honolulu, Hawaii Public 2012 Football Rainbow Warriors Big West Conference
Colorado College Colorado Springs, Colorado Private 2014 Women's soccer Tigers Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
(NCAA Division III)

Former members

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Two of the MW's first members, plus one school that joined later, are no longer in the conference. All three are now members of the Big 12 Conference.

School Location Type Joined MW Left MW Nickname Next conference Current conference
Brigham Young University
(BYU)
Provo, Utah Private 1999 2011 Cougars West Coast Conference
(FBS independent)
Big 12 Conference
Texas Christian University
(TCU)
Fort Worth, Texas Private 2005 2012 Horned Frogs Big 12 Conference
University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah Public 1999 2011 Utes Pac-12 Conference Big 12 Conference

MountainWest Sports Network

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The MountainWest Sports Network was an American college sports television channel. It was dedicated to the Mountain West Conference, including studio programs following the conference, live events, and documentary-style programs profiling the conference's members. It was launched on September 1, 2006. The channel shut down on May 31, 2012.

References

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  1. Katz, Andy (February 13, 2012). "MWC, C-USA to form new conference". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  2. McMurphy, Brett (April 17, 2012). "Conference USA-Mountain West merger "unlikely"". College Football Insider. CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 27, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  3. Sallee, Barrett (October 1, 2021). "Air Force, Colorado State join Boise State, San Diego State in sticking with Mountain West over AAC". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  4. "Ushering in a new era, the Pac-12 Conference strengthens its legacy by welcoming four respected academic and athletic universities" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. September 12, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.

Other websites

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