Mountain West 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 (CUSA) 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] Utah State soon became the fifth MW member to announce its departure for the Pac-12, also effective in 2026.^[5]

The MW started a rebuilding process in October 2024 by announcing that UTEP would join from CUSA in 2026.^[6] Later that month, football associate Hawaii announced it would become a full MW member in 2026.^[7] On November 1, Grand Canyon, which had previously announced it would join the West Coast Conference in 2025,^[8] went back on that move, instead accepting an invitation to join the MW no later than 2026.^[9] Unlike the other current and future MW members, Grand Canyon has no football team. In December, UC Davis announced it would join the MW in 2026, though without its football team, which will stay in the second-level Division I FCS as an associate of the Big Sky Conference.^[10] Then, in January 2025, the MW announced that Northern Illinois would join as a football-only member in 2026.^[11]

Current members

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.

Future members

School	Location	Type	Joining MW	Nickname	Current conference
Grand Canyon University[a]	Phoenix, Arizona	Private	2026 or earlier	Antelopes	Western Athletic Conference
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Hawaiʻi)	Honolulu, Hawaii	Public	2026	Rainbow Warriors / Rainbow Wāhine[b]	Big West Conference[c]
University of California, Davis (UC Davis)[d]	Davis, California	Public	2026	Aggies	Big West Conference
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)	El Paso, Texas	Public	2026	Miners	Conference USA

1. Grand Canyon does not play football.
2. Respectively the men's and women's team nicknames.
3. Hawaiʻi has been a football member of the MW since 2012.
4. UC Davis football will remain in the Big Sky Conference.

Associate members

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

School	Location	Type	Joined MW	Sport	Nickname	Main Conference
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Hawaiʻi)	Honolulu, Hawaii	Public	2026	Football	Rainbow Warriors	Big West Conference (MW in 2026)
Colorado College	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Private	2014	Women's soccer	Tigers	Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA Division III)
Washington State University	Pullman, Washington	Public	2024	Baseball	Cougars	Pac-12 Conference[a]
				Women's swimming & diving

1. Most of Washington State's sports are housed in the West Coast Conference through the 2025–26 school year, after which the Pac-12 will add at least six new members. WSU may leave the MW in one or both sports at that time if the Pac-12 sponsors those sports going forward.

Future associate member

School	Location	Type	Joining MW	Nickname	Current conference
Northern Illinois University	DeKalb, Illinois	Public	2026	Huskies	Mid-American Conference (Horizon League in 2026)

Former members

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

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.

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