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 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

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[lower-alpha 1]	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[lower-alpha 2]	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

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

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.

Notes

References

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

• "Mountain West Conference". themw.com. Retrieved 2014-07-03.