Skyline Conference (1938–1962)

The Skyline Conference was a college athletic conference based in the Western United States that was active from December 1937 to June 1962. The conference's formal name was the Mountain States Athletic Conference, although it was also known as the Mountain States Conference along with informal but popular nicknames. It is unrelated to the contemporary Skyline Conference that is active in NCAA Division III in the New York City area.

Skyline Conference

Formerly	Colloquially: Big Seven Skyline Six Skyline Eight
Association	NCAA
Founded	1937; 87 years ago (1937)
Ceased	1962; 62 years ago (1962)
Commissioner	Dick Romney (1949–1960) Paul Brechler (1960–1962)
Division	University Division
No. of teams	7 (1937–1947) 6 (1947–1951) 8 (1951–1962)
Region	Western United States
Locations

History

The conference began operating on December 3, 1937, when most of the larger schools in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference left to form a new conference.^[1] The seven charter members of the conference were: BYU, Colorado, Colorado A&M (now Colorado State), Denver, Utah, Utah State, and Wyoming.^[1] At the time of formation, the formal name of Mountain States Athletic Conference was adopted,^[2] although newspapers were already calling it the Big Seven at that time.^[3] The conference became popularly known as the Skyline Conference or Skyline Six after Colorado left in 1947.^[4] Colorado joined the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA), informally known as the Big Six Conference, which took over the Big Seven name and would later become the Big Eight Conference.

The conference became known as the Skyline Eight after New Mexico and Montana joined in 1951.^[5] The conference officially dissolved as of July 1, 1962, after four of its members (BYU, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) departed to form the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).^[6] Montana operated as an independent for one football season in 1962 until the formation of the Big Sky Conference in 1963. Colorado State became independent until it joined the WAC in 1968. Utah State operated as an independent for fifteen seasons, until it joined the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (later named the Big West Conference) in 1977.

The conference first had a full-time commissioner in 1949, appointing Dick Romney, who had led the Utah State Aggies football program since 1919.^[7] He was succeeded in August 1960 by Paul Brechler, who had been athletic director at the University of Iowa.^[8][9] Brechler served as commissioner until the conference disbanded, and became the first commissioner of the WAC.^[10]

Member schools

Final members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Nickname	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference(s)
Brigham Young University	Provo, Utah	1875	Private	34,100	1937–38	1961–62	Cougars	WAC (1962–63 to 1998–99) Mountain West (1999–2000 to 2010–11) WCC (2011–12 to 2012–23)	Big 12 (2023–24 to present)
Colorado State University[lower-alpha 1]	Fort Collins, Colorado	1870	Public	34,166	1937–38	1961–62	Rams	FBS Independent (1962–63 to 1967–68) WAC (1968–69 to 1998–99)	Mountain West (1999–2000 to 2025–26) (Pac-12 in 2026–27)
University of Denver[lower-alpha 2]	Denver, Colorado	1864	Private	11,952	1937–38	1961–62	Pioneers	various[lower-alpha 3]	Summit (2013–14 to present)
University of Montana[lower-alpha 4]	Missoula, Montana	1893	Public	10,104	1951–52	1961–62	Grizzlies	FBS Independent (1962–63)	Big Sky (1963–64 to present)
University of New Mexico[lower-alpha 5]	Albuquerque, New Mexico	1889	Public	25,441	1951–52	1961–62	Lobos	WAC (1962–63 to 1998–99)	Mountain West (1999–2000 to present)
University of Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah	1850	Public	33,000	1937–38	1961–62	Utes	WAC (1962–63 to 1998–99) Mountain West (1999–2000 to 2010–11) Pac-12 (2011–12 to 2023–24)	Big 12 (2024–25 to present)
Utah State University[lower-alpha 6]	Logan, Utah	1888	Public	27,691	1937–38	1961–62	Aggies	FBS Independent (1962–63 to 1977–78) Big West (1978–79 to 2004–05) WAC (2005–06 to 2012–13)	Mountain West (2013–14 to 2025–26) (Pac-12 in 2026–27)
University of Wyoming	Laramie, Wyoming	1886	Public	12,450	1937–38	1961–62	Cowboys and Cowgirls	WAC (1962–63 to 1998–99)	Mountain West (1999–2000 to present)

Notes

1. Formerly known as Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts until 1957.
2. Denver dropped football after the 1960 fall season (1960–61 school year).
3. Denver had joined the following subsequent conferences: as an NCAA D-I Independent from 1962–63 to 1978–79 and during the 1998–99 school year; as an NAIA Independent from 1979–80 to 1989–90; the Colorado Athletic Conference (CAC) of NCAA D-II from 1990–91 to 1995–96; NCAA D-II Independent from 1996–97 to 1997–98; the Sun Belt Conference from 1999–2000 to 2011–12; and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2012–13 school year.
4. Montana joined the Mountain States after a year of independent play during the 1950–51 school year following several decades of membership in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC).
5. New Mexico joined the Mountain States from the Border Conference.
6. Formerly known as Utah State Agricultural College until 1957.

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Nickname	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference(s)
University of Colorado	Boulder, Colorado	1876	Public	33,246	1937–38	1946–47	Buffaloes	Big 8 (1947–48 to 1995–96) Pac-12 (2011–12 to 2023–2024)	Big 12 (1996–97 to 2011–11) (2024–25 to present)

Membership timeline

Football champions

• 1938 Utah
• 1939 Colorado
• 1940 Utah
• 1941 Utah
• 1942 Utah and Colorado
• 1943 Colorado
• 1944 Colorado
• 1945 Denver
• 1946 Denver and Utah State
• 1947 Utah
• 1948 Utah
• 1949 Wyoming
• 1950 Wyoming
• 1951 Utah
• 1952 Utah
• 1953 Utah
• 1954 Denver
• 1955 Colorado A&M
• 1956 Wyoming
• 1957 Utah
• 1958 Wyoming
• 1959 Wyoming
• 1960 Wyoming and Utah State
• 1961 Wyoming and Utah State

^[11]

See also

• List of Skyline Conference (1938–1962) football standings
• List of defunct college football conferences

References

1. "Rocky Mountain Men are to Frame Skeds". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. December 3, 1937. p. 7. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
2. Goodell, Bob (December 5, 1937). "New Circuit Christened Mountain Stats Athletic Conference". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 37. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
3. Goodell, Bob (December 5, 1937). "Football Schedules Drawn At Denver Meeting". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 38. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
4. Moler, Murray (May 25, 1947). "'Skyline Six' (ex-Big Seven) Conference Will Send Champs Into California Raisin Bowl". Nevada State Journal. UP. p. 5. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
5. "Montana Accepted As Member of Skyline Eight". Independent Record. Helena, Montana. AP. June 11, 1950. p. 12. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
6. "New League Is Established". Daily Inter Lake. Kalispell, Montana. AP. October 12, 1962. p. 6. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
7. McCulloch, Ollie (January 28, 1949). "Dick Romney Accepts Skyline Six Commissioner Position". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 22. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
8. "Brechler Quits Iowa Post, Becomes Skyline Chief". The Salt Lake Tribune. AP. February 25, 1960. p. 21. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
9. Mooney, John (August 23, 1960). "Dick Romney Ends Half Century of Athletic Service". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. 16. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
10. "Brechler Explains 'Circuit'". Standard-Examiner. Ogden, Utah. AP. January 11, 1962. p. 24. Retrieved January 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
11. "Conference Championships – Mountain States Athletic Conference". cfbdatawarehouse.com. Retrieved January 5, 2020.

External links

• Mountain States Athletic Conference Records. Provo, Utah: L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University.