Mountain West Conference
File:MountainWestConference 100.png | |
Association | NCAA |
---|---|
Commissioner | Craig Thompson (since 1999) |
Sports fielded |
|
Division | Division I |
Subdivision | FBS |
Region | Western United States |
Official website | http://themwc.com/ |
Locations | |
The Mountain West Conference (or MWC), the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS (I-A), officially began operations in July 1999. Geographically, the MWC covers a broad expanse of the western United States, with member institutions located in California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Craig Thompson has served as Commissioner of the MWC since its founding in 1999.
Charter members included Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah, and Wyoming. Before forming the Mountain West Conference, seven of the eight charter members had been longtime members of the Western Athletic Conference; half were WAC charter members at its formation in 1962 - UNLV had only joined the WAC in 1996.
The WAC expanded from 10 to 16 universities in 1996, absorbing three teams from the defunct Southwest Conference (Rice, SMU, and TCU), adding two from the Big West (San Jose State and UNLV), and Tulsa from the Missouri Valley. After three football seasons, most of the pre-expansion members decided the that the new WAC was oversized, and departed to form the Mountain West Conference. The MWC added a ninth team in 2005: TCU, also a former WAC member, which joined after four seasons in Conference USA.
A lesser known "Mountain West Athletic Conference" existed from 1982-88, sponsoring championships for women’s sports at Big Sky Conference institutions. The Big Sky absorbed the MWAC in 1988, forming one league for both men's and women's competition.
Members
Institution | Nickname | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Year Joined |
U.S. Air Force Academy | Falcons | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Public/Federal | 4,000 | 1999 |
Brigham Young University | Cougars | Provo, Utah | Private/Christian (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) |
33,278 | 1999 |
Colorado State University | Rams | Fort Collins, Colorado | Public/State (Colorado State University system) |
25,500 | 1999 |
University of New Mexico | Lobos | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Public/State | 25,767 | 1999 |
San Diego State University | Aztecs | San Diego, California | Public/State (California State University system) |
35,887 | 1999 |
Texas Christian University | Horned Frogs | Fort Worth, Texas | Private/Christian (Disciples of Christ) | 8,865 | 2005 |
University of Nevada at Las Vegas | Rebels | Las Vegas, Nevada | Public/State (Nevada System of Higher Education) |
28,000 | 1999 |
University of Utah | Utes | Salt Lake City, Utah | Public/State (Utah System of Higher Education) |
29,251 | 1999 |
University of Wyoming | Cowboys and Cowgirls | Laramie, Wyoming | Public/State | 13,207 | 1999 |
A Hypothetical Expansion
The Boise, Idaho, radio station KBOI reported on Nov. 11, 2008, that the Western Athletic Conference member Boise State's president Robert Kustra had received a letter from the Mountain West Conference with an invitation to join this league. Despite the popularity of potential expansion among some fans and reporters, this report, also reported on the Boise newspaper's Web site www.IdahoStatesman.com , has been denied.[citation needed]
Later, on November 12, 2009, San Diego radio host Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton reported that the Mountain West Conference intended to expand to gain automatic access to the Bowl Championship Series by adding Boise State, Nevada, and Fresno State:
"These rumors are everywhere out of the nations capital. There are negotiations between the people for the BCS as well as the Mountain West Conference. If the Mountain West wants to get a guaranteed spot in the BCS they must expand. The expansion would include Boise State, Nevada-Reno and Fresno State. Make it a power twelve team conference."[1]
The rumor created commotion on internet message boards across the country. However, no immediate report from the Mountain West Conference, the BCS, or the NCAA was made to substantiate this claim.
Sports
The MWC sponsors championships in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball, football, softball,indoor and outdoor track and cross country. Many of its member schools participate in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for sports not sponsored by the Mountain West Conference. Two MWC schools have unique affiliations in men's soccer as San Diego State competes as a member of the Pacific-10 Conference, while BYU has completely abandoned the collegiate competitive structure in that sport, opting instead to field a semi-professional team in the USL Premier Development League.
Starting with the 2009-10 season, the Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conferences will hold an annual challenge series between all nine members of the MWC and nine of the ten MVC teams. The first game will be on November 13 between the Bradley Braves and the BYU Cougars in Provo and concluding on December 23 with the Wyoming Cowboys visiting the Northern Iowa Panthers in Cedar Falls, IA. 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.[2]
Television network
- See article MountainWest Sports Network
Conference Champions
Men's Championship Winners
Football | Men's Basketball | Baseball | Cross Country | Golf | Swimming & Diving |
Tennis | Track & Field (Outdoors) |
Indoor Track | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999-2000 | BYU CSU Utah |
Regular Season UNLV/Utah Tournament UNLV |
Regular Season New Mexico Tournament SDSU |
BYU | UNLV | BYU | Regular Season SDSU Tournament New Mexico |
BYU | BYU |
2000-2001 | CSU | Regular Season BYU/Utah/Wyoming Tournament BYU |
Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
BYU | BYU | BYU | Regular Season SDSU Tournament BYU |
BYU | BYU |
2001-2002 | BYU | Regular Season Wyoming Tournament SDSU |
Regular Season SDSU Tournament BYU |
BYU | UNLV | BYU | Regular Season and Tournament SDSU |
BYU | CSU |
2002-2003 | CSU | Regular Season BYU/Utah Tournament CSU |
Regular Season and Tournament UNLV |
BYU | New Mexico | BYU | Regular Season and Tournament SDSU |
BYU | BYU |
2003-2004 | Utah | Regular Season Air Force Tournament Utah |
Regular Season SDSU Tournament UNLV |
Air Force | New Mexico | BYU | Regular Season and Tournament New Mexico |
BYU | BYU |
2004-2005 | Utah | Regular Season Utah Tournament New Mexico |
Regular Season and Tournament UNLV |
BYU | New Mexico | UNLV | Regular Season and Tournament SDSU |
BYU | BYU |
2005-2006 | TCU | Regular Season and Tournament SDSU |
Regular Season and Tournament TCU |
BYU | New Mexico | UNLV | Regular Season SDSU Tournament TCU |
BYU | BYU |
2006-2007 | BYU | Regular Season BYU Tournament UNLV |
Regular Season and Tournament TCU |
BYU | BYU | UNLV BYU |
Regular Season SDSU Tournament UNLV |
BYU | BYU |
2007-2008 | BYU | Regular Season BYU Tournament UNLV |
Regular Season and Tournament TCU |
BYU | CSU | Regular Season BYU Tournament UNLV |
Regular Season New Mexico/TCU/Utah Tournament TCU |
BYU | BYU |
2008-2009 | Utah | Regular Season BYU/Utah/New Mexico Tournament Utah |
Regular Season TCU Tournament Utah |
BYU | TCU | Regular Season and Tournament UNLV |
Regular Season TCU Tournament New Mexico |
BYU | BYU |
2009-2010 | TCU | Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
New Mexico | -- | Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
-- | -- |
Source:[3]
Women's Championship Winners
Women's Basketball | Softball | Soccer | Volleyball | Cross Country | Golf | Swimming & Diving | Tennis | Track & Field (Outdoors) | Indoor Track | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999-2000 | Regular Season and Tournament Utah |
Regular Season and Tournament Utah |
Regular Season SDSU Tournament BYU |
Regular Season BYU Tournament CSU |
BYU | New Mexico | BYU | Regular Season SDSU Tournament UNLV |
BYU | BYU |
2000-2001 | Regular Season Utah Tournament CSU |
Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
Regular Season CSU Tournament BYU |
BYU | New Mexico | BYU | Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
BYU | BYU |
2001-2002 | Regular Season CSU Tournament BYU |
Regular Season SDSU Tournament Utah |
Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
Regular Season CSU Tournament Utah |
BYU | New Mexico | BYU | Regular Season SDSU Tournament UNLV |
BYU | BYU |
2002-2003 | Regular Season Utah Tournament New Mexico |
Regular Season SDSU Tournament CSU |
Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
Regular Season CSU Tournament Utah |
BYU | New Mexico | BYU | Regular Season UNLV Tournament SDSU |
BYU | BYU |
2003-2004 | Regular Season Utah Tournament New Mexico |
Regular Season CSU Tournament Utah |
Regular Season Utah Tournament BYU |
Regular Season and Tournament CSU |
BYU | UNLV | BYU | Regular Season New Mexico Tournament BYU |
BYU | BYU |
2004-2005 | Regular Season and Tournament New Mexico |
Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
Regular Season UNLV Tournament Utah |
Regular Season and Tournament CSU |
BYU | UNLV | UNLV | Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
BYU | BYU |
2005-2006 | Regular Season BYU Tournament Utah |
Regular Season SDSU Tournament Utah |
Regular Season Utah Tournament UNLV |
Regular Season BYU Tournament Utah |
BYU | UNLV | Utah | Regular Season and Tournament TCU |
BYU | CSU |
2006-2007 | Regular Season BYU Tournament New Mexico |
BYU | Regular Season Utah Tournament UNLV |
Regular Season Utah Tournament CSU |
BYU | TCU | Regular Season Utah Tournament BYU |
Regular Season BYU and TCU Tournament BYU |
BYU | BYU |
2007-2008 | Regular Season Utah Tournament New Mexico |
SDSU | Regular Season UNLV Tournament BYU |
Regular Season CSU Tournament UNLV |
CSU | New Mexico | Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
Regular Season TCU Tournament UNLV |
CSU | TCU |
2008-2009 | Regular Season Utah/SDSU Tournament Utah |
BYU | Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
Regular Season Utah Tournament -- |
New Mexico | New Mexico | Regular Season and Tournament BYU |
Regular Season UNLV Tournament TCU |
BYU | BYU |
2009-2010 | Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
Regular Season BYU Tournament SDSU |
Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
New Mexico | Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
Regular Season -- Tournament -- |
-- | -- |
Source:[3]
Football Rivalries
Conference
Schools | First Meeting |
Game | Trophy | Winner (Last Meeting) |
All-time Record | |
Utah | BYU | 1896 | The Holy War | Beehive Boot | BYU | Utah leads 53–34–4 |
Colorado State | Wyoming | 1899 | Border War | Bronze Boot | Wyoming | Colorado State leads 55-41-5 |
Air Force Academy | Colorado State | 1980 | Ram-Falcon Trophy | Air Force | Air Force leads 27-19-1 |
Since TCU joined the conference in 2005, BYU and TCU have begun to develop a heated rivalry. For at least the 2008 and 2009 football seasons, the TCU team placed a BYU helmet atop its tackling dummy.[4]
Bowl games
The Mountain West Conference will have agreements with the following bowls for 2010-13: The MWC champion will receive an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games if:
- ranked in the top 12 of the BCS Standings. (Utah and TCU qualified under this criterion in 2008 and 2009, respectively)
- Or if ranked in the top 16 of the BCS Standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.
- Maaco Bowl Las Vegas: Las Vegas, Nevada (MWC #1 pick against Pac-10 #5 pick)
- Poinsettia Bowl: San Diego, California (MWC #2 pick against Pac-10 #6 pick)
- Independence Bowl: Shreveport, Louisiana (MWC #3 pick against ACC #7 pick)
- Armed Forces Bowl: Fort Worth, Texas (MWC #4/5 pick against C-USA pick)
- New Mexico Bowl: Albuquerque, New Mexico (MWC #4/5 pick against WAC #1/2/3 pick)
Non-Conference
Schools | First Meeting |
Game | Trophy | Reigning Champion (Last Meeting) |
Next Meeting | |
1972 | Commander-in-Chief's Trophy | Navy (2008) | 2009 | |||
Utah | Utah State | 1892 | Battle of the Brothers | Beehive Boot | Utah (2009) | 2012 |
Colorado State | Colorado | 1893 | Rocky Mountain Showdown | Centennial Cup | Colorado State (2009) | 2010 |
New Mexico | New Mexico State | 1894 | Battle of Interstate 25 | Rio Grande Rivalry | New Mexico State (2009) | 2009 |
New Mexico | Arizona | 1908 | The Kit Carson Rifle | New Mexico (2008) | ||
TCU | SMU | 1915 | Battle for the Iron Skillet | The Iron Skillet | TCU (2009) | 2010 |
New Mexico | UTEP | 1919 | Rio Grande Championship | UTEP (2007) | 2010 | |
BYU | Hawaii | 1930 | BYU (2002) | 2012 | ||
BYU | Utah State | 1922 | Battle for the old Wagon Wheel | The Wagon Wheel | BYU (2009) | 2010 |
San Diego State | San Jose State | 1935 | San Jose State (2008) | |||
Nevada-Las Vegas | Nevada-Reno | 1969 | Battle for Nevada | The Fremont Cannon | Nevada (2008) | 2009 |
Postseason Records
|
|
Conference Facilities
School | Football Stadium | Capacity | Basketball Arenas | Capacity | Baseball Stadium | Capacity |
Air Force | Falcon Stadium | 46,692 | Clune Arena | 5,939 | Falcon Baseball Field | 1,000 |
BYU | LaVell Edwards Stadium | 64,045 | Marriott Center | 22,700 | Larry H. Miller Field | 2,710 |
Colorado State | Hughes Stadium | 34,000 | Moby Arena | 8,745 | No baseball team | |
New Mexico | University Stadium | 42,119 | "The Pit" University Arena | 18,018 | Isotopes Park Lobo Practice Fields |
12,215 3,120 |
San Diego State | Qualcomm Stadium | 71,400 | Viejas Arena | 12,414 | Tony Gwynn Stadium | 3,000 |
TCU | Amon G. Carter Stadium | 44,358 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum | 7,200 | Lupton Stadium | 3,500 |
UNLV | Sam Boyd Stadium | 36,800 | Thomas & Mack Center (men) Cox Pavilion (women) |
18,776 2,472 |
Earl Wilson Stadium | 3,000 |
Utah | Rice-Eccles Stadium | 45,017 | Jon M. Huntsman Center | 15,000 | Spring Mobile Ballpark | 15,500 |
Wyoming | War Memorial Stadium | 30,514 | Arena-Auditorium | 15,028 | No baseball team |
Elevation
The Mountain West's slogan is "Above the rest," and most member institutions are at more than 4,000 feet 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, golf, and the discus and javelin throws. The Mountain West's institutions have the highest average elevation in NCAA Division I sports.
School | Elevation | Notes | Conference (Top 5 in elevation) | Average campus elevation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wyoming | 7,220 ft. | Highest altitude school in Division I | Mountain West | 4,060 feet | |
Air Force Academy | 7,050 ft. | Falcon Stadium is at 6,600 ft. | Big Sky | 3,503 feet | |
Colorado State | 5,200 ft. | WAC | 2,160 feet | ||
New Mexico | 5,100 ft. | Big 12 | 1,390 feet | ||
BYU | 4,660 ft. | The Summit | 1,240 feet | ||
Utah | 4,660 ft. | ||||
UNLV | 2,024 ft. | Sam Boyd Stadium is at 1,600 ft. | |||
TCU | 635 ft. | ||||
SDSU | 441 ft. | Qualcomm Stadium is at 100 ft. | |||
Conference average | 4,060 ft. |
See also
- Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
- Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
- Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament
References
- ^ http://www.collegegameballs.com/2009/11/12/mountain-west-conference-expansion/
- ^ "Missouri Valley, MWC to start basketball series". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 15, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdatee=
ignored (help) - ^ a b Mountain West Conference Championships
- ^ "TCU Coach Talks About BYU Helmet on Tackling Dummy". Salt Lake Tribune. October 20, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessdatee=
ignored (help)