The Mountain West Conference

The Mountain West conference has only existed for a little over 25 years, but there’s been a lot of history made. During that time we have seen some big shifts from multiple colleges joining the conference, while others have left.

Here is everything you need to know about the Mountain West conference. Read about the history of this conference below and which colleges are currently call the conference home. 

The History of the Mountain West Conference 

The Mountain West Conference was formed in 1998 after the 1996 NCAA conference realignment. This realignment was initially triggered two years later when the Big Eight Conference merged with the Southwest Conference(SWC).

The Big Eight and SWC merger went on to create the Big 12 conference. At the same time, the Western Athletic Conference was looking to expand its 10-member conference.

They added teams left out of the Big 12 merger and became a 16-team conference. However, tensions started to rise as the conference was too large and there were geographical issues. 

Utah and BYU initially proposed the conference split the conference into 8-team leagues. This proposal caused more tension and some schools like Air Force threatened to go independant.

To quell tensions, the presidents of Air Force, Utah, BYU, Colorado State, and Wyoming, set up a meeting. In 1998, at the Denver International Airport, the five schools agreed to create their own conference. 

After the meeting, the five schools invited New Mexico State, UNLV, and San Diego State to their conference. These eight teams would make up the original Mountain West Conference.

Additions & the 2010 Realignment

During the 2000s, Texas Christian University(TCU) moved to the MW after four seasons with Conference USA. TCU would stay with the conference for over five years before the 2010 realignment.

In 2010, both original MW schools, BYU and Utah, left the conference to join the Pac-12. They were replaced by Fresno State and the University of Nevada-Reno.

The University of Hawaii also became an associate member for football in 2010. Then in 2012, San Jose State and Utah State joined the conference.

Mountain West Conference Teams

As now, there are currently eleven full members of the Mountain West conference, with three affiliate members and one future member.

Current Full Members 

• United States Air Force Academy: Original member(1999)
• Boise State University: Joined in 2011
• California State University-Fresno: Joined in 2012.
• Colorado State University: Original member(1999)
• University of Nevada-Reno: Joined in 2012
• University of Nevada-Las Vegas(UNLV): Original Member(1999)
• University of New Mexico: Original member(1999)
• San Diego State University: Original Member(1999)
• San Jose State University: Joined in 2012
• Utah State University: Joined in 2013
• University of Wyoming: Original member(1999)

Affiliate Members 

There are current three universities that are affiliate members of the Mountain West, who participate in certain sports.

• Colorado College: Joined in 2014 to participate in women’s soccer.
• University of Hawaii at Manoa: Joined in 2012 to participate in football.
• Washington State University: The newest associate member, which joined in 2024 to participate in baseball and women’s swimming.

Former Members 

Since the formation of the Mountain West, three schools have left the conference, which includes two original members.

• Brigham Young University(BYU): Left in 2011 to join the Big 12 conference.
• Texas Christian University(TCU): Left in 2011 to join the Big 12 conference.
• University of Utate: Left in 2011 to join the Big 12 conference.

Future Members

As of this write up, the only scheduled future member of the conference is the University of Texas at El Paso. UTEP is scheduled to join the Mountain West in 2026.

Mountain West Conference Football 

In total, there are twelve schools that participate within the conference for football. Eleven full members and one associate member.

• Air Force
• Boise State
• Fresno State
• Colorado State
• Hawaii(Associate Member)
• Nevada
• UNLV
• New Mexico
• San Diego State
• San Jose State
• Utah State
• Wyoming

List of Conference Football Championships

• 1999: 3-way tie between BYU, Colorado State, and Utah
• 2000: Colorado State
• 2001: BYU
• 2002: Colorado State
• 2003: Utah
• 2004: Utah
• 2005: TCU
• 2006: BYU
• 2007: BYU
• 2008: Utah
• 2009: TCU
• 2010: TCU
• 2011: TCU
• 2012: 3-way tie Boise State, Fresno State San Diego State
• 2013: Fresno State
• 2014: Boise State
• 2015: San Diego State
• 2016: San Diego State
• 2017: Boise State
• 2018: Fresno State
• 2019: Boise State
• 2020: San Jose State
• 2021: Utah State
• 2022: Fresno State
• 2023: Fresno State

Most Conference Football Titles

• Boise State: 5 Titles
• TCU(Former Member): 4 Titles
• BYU(Former Member): 4 Titles
• Utah(Former Member): 4 Titles
• Colorado State: 3 Titles
• San Diego State: 3 Titles
• San Jose State: 1 Title
• Utah State: 1 Title

Mountain West Conference Basketball 

All eleven full members of the Mountain West Conference participate in basketball. This will include twelve schools in 2026 after UTEP joins the conference.

• Air Force
• Boise State
• Fresno State
• Colorado State
• Nevada
• UNLV
• New Mexico
• San Diego State
• San Jose State
• Utah State
• Wyoming
• UTEP(Future Member in 2026)

History of Mountain West Basketball Champions

The Mountain West Conference basketball championship has been played since 2000. In that time, ten different schools have won the title.

• San Diego State: 16 total MW titles(9 regular season titles and 7 tournament titles)
• New Mexico: 9 total MW titles(4 regular season titles and 5 tournament titles)
• Nevada: 4 total MW titles(3 regular season titles and 1 tournament title)
• UNLV: 4 total MW titles(1 regular season title and 3 tournament titles)
• Utah State: 4 total MW titles(2 regular season titles and 2 tournament titles)
• Boise State: 3 total MW titles(2 regular season titles and 1 tournament title)
• Wyoming: 3 total MW titles(2 regular season titles and 1 tournament title)
• Air Force: 1 regular season MW title
• Colorado State: 1 MW tournament title
• Fresno State: 1 MW tournament title

Mountain West Conference Baseball

For baseball, there are seven full member schools which participate and one associate school.

• Air Force
• Fresno State
• Nevada 
• UNLV
• New Mexico
• San Diego State
• San Jose State
• Washington State(Associate Member)

Fresno State is the current reigning Mountain West conference champion.