Tag: Mountain West

Dec 2, 2023; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Mountain West conference logo on the field at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Reports: Four Mountain West schools set to join Pac-12

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Pac-12 might be ready to rise again.

Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State are set to exit the Mountain West to join the Pac-12 for the 2026-27 school year, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday night.

The moves reportedly could be announced as soon as Thursday.

Just two schools remain in the Pac-12 — Oregon State and Washington State — after an offseason that saw 10 schools join other power conferences. Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Southern California moved to the Big Ten; Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State shifted to the Big 12; and Cal and Stanford joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The NCAA is giving the Pac-12 until July 2026 to have a minimum of eight universities if the league is to remain part of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The reported Mountain West addition would still leave the league two short, though officials are pursuing additional options.

The four schools looking to join the Pac-12 reportedly would have to pay an exit fee of at least $17 million. The Pac-12 also would owe the Mountain West $43 million for taking schools away, part of the deal it reached to arrange scheduling of football matchups for Oregon State and Washington State this year.

Colorado State and San Diego State have been in the Mountain West since the league’s founding in 1999. Boise State joined the conference in 2011, and Fresno State followed in 2012. One of those four schools won or shared the league’s football championship in 10 of the past 12 seasons.

–Field Level Media

Oregon State Beavers running back Anthony Hankerson (0) runs the ball to score a touchdown in the first half of the game against Idaho State on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore.

Mountain West not planning to play ‘Pac-2’ schools in 2025

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The Mountain West Conference had an agreement to schedule football games for its member schools against Oregon State and Washington State this season, but it does not plan to do so again in 2025, the league said in a statement Monday.

Oregon State and Washington State were the two universities left over from the dissolution of the Pac-12, now unofficially referred to as the “Pac-2.” The Beavers and Cougars are endeavoring to play solid football schedules while their long-term futures in the college athletics economy are up in the air.

“The football scheduling arrangement with Oregon State and Washington State was a one-year agreement,” the Mountain West said in a statement. “For the 2025 season, the Mountain West and its member institutions are moving forward with their conference and nonconference schedules. Our focus remains on the current season and our exceptional teams.”

The Mountain West’s scheduling formula for 2024 is a 7+1 structure, where member institutions are playing seven games against traditional conference opponents and one game against either Oregon State or Washington State.

Washington State will face San Jose State, Hawaii, Utah State and Wyoming at home this season and visit Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and New Mexico. The Cougars also have Power Four games scheduled against Texas Tech and former Pac-12 rival Washington.

Meanwhile, Oregon State is scheduled to play Colorado State, UNLV and San Jose State at home and San Diego State, Nevada, Air Force and Boise State on the road. The Beavers scheduled Purdue from the Big Ten along with former Pac-12 rivals Oregon (at home) and Cal (on the road).

Washington State will visit Oregon State on Nov. 23.

The two schools also entered a two-year contract to be affiliate members of the West Coast Conference in 12 sports, most notably men’s and women’s basketball. The WCC is the home of Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.

–Field Level Media

Nov 18, 2023; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers fans cheering during the fourth quarter against the Washington Huskies at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Washington State, Oregon State finalizing MWC alliance

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Oregon State and Washington State are finalizing an agreement that would ally the two remaining teams of the Pac-12 conference with the Mountain West Conference for the 2024 football season, Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday.

The Mountain West would receive a fee of about $14 million under the one-year agreement, which has a renewal option for 2025, per the report. A formal announcement could be made this week.

Under the agreement, the Mountain West teams would play seven conference games, plus an eighth against either Oregon State or Washington State.

Oregon State and Washington State were left behind when the other 10 teams of the conference decided to leave the conference for the 2024 season.

The Mountain West consists of Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming. Hawaii is a participant in football.

Under the agreement, Oregon State and Washington State would not be eligible to play for the Mountain West title and they will play as “quasi-independents under the Pac-12 banner,” Yahoo reported.

At this time, the scheduling partnership would apply only to football. Talks are in progress for a potential scheduling agreement for men’s and women’s basketball, and the two Pac-12 schools are discussing affiliate memberships with leagues for other sports.

Oregon State finished the regular football season at 8-4 (5-4 Pac-12). Washington State began the season 4-0, which included a win over the Beavers, and concluded with a 5-7 (2-7) mark.

UNLV (9-3, 6-2 MWC) will host Boise State (7-5, 6-2) on Saturday in the Mountain West championship game.

–Field Level Media

Nov 26, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; A detailed view of an end zone pylon with the San Diego State Aztecs and Mountain West logo during the second half against the Air Force Falcons at Snapdragon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Report: SDSU must pay legal fees after threat to exit Mountain West

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San Diego State can stay in the Mountain West through the 2024-25 school year, the conference reportedly told the school, but at a price of paying legal fees stemming from its attempted exit.

The conference’s board of directors met Monday and reached that decision, although they also agreed to pay out more than $6.6 million they had withheld from the school, Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday.

San Diego State, which had been mentioned as a possible target of the Big 12, announced its intention last month to leave the Mountain West after the upcoming school year. The departure meant triggering an exit fee of $34 million to the conference, although the school hoped to halve that fee because it announced its decision to leave before July 1.

However, when the school had no clear plans where it would land later in June, it asked the Mountain West for extra time to set its future course, without paying the higher fee. Just before the deadline, the school backtracked and said it was not leaving at all.

The conference maintained that San Diego State had already withdrawn and needed to pay the exit fee, and withheld some of the money it owed the school as an installment on that fee.

The conference made that payment on Tuesday, according to Yahoo Sports.

–Field Level Media

Gloria Nevarez is the new commissioner of the Mountain West Conference.

Mountain West names Gloria Nevarez new commissioner

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The Mountain West hired Gloria Nevarez as commissioner on Friday after she served the past five years in the same role for the West Coast Conference.

Nevarez replaces Craig Thompson, who announced his retirement in September after running the Mountain West for nearly 24 years. Thompson’s final day is Dec. 31.

Nevarez, 51, joins Conference USA’s Judy MacLeod as the only two women to ever oversee an FBS football conference.

The WCC doesn’t offer football but has made big strides as a basketball league with Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s leading the way.

Nevarez pledged to help build the Mountain West into an even better league.

“We are well-positioned as a league thanks to the incredible legacy of Commissioner Thompson, but we cannot — and will not — rest on our success,” Nevarez said in a statement. “We will be aggressive, we will be innovative, we will be inclusive and we will keep our focus on the student-athletes who call the Mountain West Conference home. I cannot wait to visit our campuses, our Conference staff, and our fans, and to begin the work ahead.”

Nevarez, a former basketball player for Massachusetts, also worked as a senior associate commissioner in the Pac-12 before becoming WCC commissioner.

–Field Level Media

Dec 4, 2021; Carson, CA, USA; Utah State Aggies quarterback Logan Bonner (1) and defensive end Byron Vaughns (11) hold the champions trophy following the victory against the San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference championship game at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Mountain West scrapping two-division format in 2023

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The Mountain West Conference announced Friday that it will eliminate its two-division format beginning with the 2023 season.

The Mountain West will instead have the two teams with the top winning percentages play in the league championship game.

The move comes two days after the NCAA Division I Council changed policy to allow conferences to determine which teams compete in the title game. Prior to that, leagues with divisions were required to send the division winners to the championship contest.

“Our membership has been working on concepts since last summer, as part of our strategic planning for the future of the Mountain West,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in a news release. “A single-division approach provides maximum flexibility to adapt the Conference schedule as the landscape continues to evolve, while also allowing member institutions to play each other more frequently.”

This season, the Mountain West will stick to the division format. The winner of the Mountain and West divisions will play Dec. 3 at the site of the team with the top record in conference play.

The Pac-12 announced it was scrapping divisions, beginning this fall, just minutes after the rule was relaxed on Wednesday. The two teams with the best winning percentages will meet in the Pac-12 title game.

–Field Level Media

Dec 4, 2021; Carson, CA, USA; Utah State Aggies running back Calvin Tyler Jr. (4) runs the ball against San Diego State Aztecs safety C.J. Baskerville (34) during the first half of the Mountain West Conference championship game at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Utah State annihilates No. 19 San Diego State to win Mountain West

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Unranked Utah State kept San Diego State from its first 12-win season in dominating fashion, rolling to a 46-13 upset of the 19th-ranked Aztecs on Saturday afternoon in the Mountain West Conference championship game at the Aztecs’ temporary home in Carson, Calif.

Logan Bonner completed 29 of 42 passes for 318 yards, throwing four touchdown passes as Utah State took the lead after a scoreless first quarter and never trailed.

The Aggies (10-3) won their first Mountain West title in school history in their second appearance in the game. Brandon Bowling caught two touchdowns as part of his eight-catch, 154-yard afternoon, and Derek Wright and Justin McGriff each had a receiving touchdown for Utah State.

Utah State sacked San Diego State quarterback Jordan Brookshire four times, finishing with five sacks for the game. The Aggies blocked two punts, one for a safety in the third quarter that gave them a 23-3 lead.

Aztecs star kicker/punter Matt Araiza hadn’t had a punt blocked all season. Wide receiver Jesse Matthews caught San Diego State’s only touchdown pass and had eight catches for 82 yards.

On a first quarter possession, the Aggies stuffed the Aztecs (11-2) on fourth-and-1 from the Utah State 12-yard line.

Araiza’s second field goal of the game made the score 23-6, but Bonner found Bowling for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:54 to go in the third quarter, and the 23-point deficit was too much for San Diego State to overcome.

Bonner’s touchdown pass to Wright saw the wide receiver manage to keep one foot in bounds along the sideline in the end zone, and his first TD pass to Bowling was a backbreaker for the Aztecs, who trailed only 14-3 at halftime.

Bowling was wide open over the middle of the field for a 58-yard touchdown to cap off the Aggies’ first drive of the second half.

Calvin Tyler Jr. added a touchdown run for Utah State, and after he fumbled inside the 5-yard line late in the game, teammate Jordan Nathan recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 3:58 to play.

–Field Level Media

Nov 29, 2020; Inglewood, California, USA; A general view of SoFi Stadium exterior prior to the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

LA Bowl latest bowl game called off

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The inaugural LA Bowl was rescheduled for December 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bowl committee announced on Monday.

The game was to be played Dec. 30 at the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. — home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers — and feature the No. 1 team in the Mountain West Conference against the No. 5 team in the Pac-12.

“The inaugural LA Bowl has been postponed to 2021,” the game’s official Twitter account posted Monday. “While the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented us from having the game this year, we look forward to hosting teams from the Mountain West and Pac-12 conferences at SoFi Stadium next December.”

The LA Bowl became the 11th bowl game canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.

–Field Level Media

Dec 27, 2019; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Air Force Falcons offensive lineman Scott Hattok (61) against the Washington State Cougars during the Cheez-It Bowl at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Mountain West unveils sked to begin Oct. 24

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The Mountain West unveiled an eight-game schedule on Thursday that begins Oct. 24 and will scrap the division format for the 2020 season.

The league will have the two teams with the top winning percentages meet in its conference title game on Dec. 19. The 12-team conference typically uses a two-division format.

“We are excited to get our student-athletes back on the football field this fall,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in a statement. “The shift away from a two-division format was necessary to optimize the schedule and allow for maximum flexibility given the various constraints which had to be considered.

“Inasmuch as the season begins with an uneven number of conference games, and the possibility exists additional games may be lost to COVID-19 challenges, the procedures for determining the participants in and location for the MW Football Championship Game were adapted to accommodate a range of outcomes in as equitable a fashion as possible.”

The uneven conference schedule allows Air Force keep its traditional military opponents on the slate. The Falcons host Navy this Saturday and play at Army on Nov. 7.

The Mountain West begins its conference slate with six games on Oct. 24.

–Field Level Media

Sep 16, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; A detailed view of the pylon with San Diego State Aztecs and Mountain West Conference logos during the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Mountain West will start 8-game football season Oct. 24

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Following the lead of the Pac-12, the Mountain West Conference announced Thursday that it will start an eight-game football season on Oct. 24.

The conference championship game will be played Dec. 19, one day prior to the College Football Playoff revealing the four playoff teams.

The announcement came with the stipulation that the schedule is “subject to approval from state, county and local officials.”

The Mountain West, as with all major college football conferences, delayed the start of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd cited sources saying that the Mountain West was looking into administering COVID-19 tests three times a week.

The Pac-12 announced earlier Thursday that it will play a seven-game slate starting Nov. 6.

The Mountain West’s football schools are located in California (Fresno State, San Diego State, San Jose State), Colorado (Air Force and Colorado State), Nevada (Nevada and UNLV), Hawaii (Hawaii), Idaho (Boise State), New Mexico (New Mexico), Utah (Utah State) and Wyoming (Wyoming).

According to ESPN, San Jose State had yet to deliver its return-to-action plan to Santa Clara County officials as of Thursday. The protocol must be accepted by the local government before the Spartans can resume practice.

With the Southeastern Conference set to start Saturday and the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mountain West all now planning to kick off their seasons later in the fall, the only Football Bowl Subdivision league without a planned return date is the Mid-American Conference.

ESPN reported Thursday that MAC presidents will meet Friday to consider a possible six-game schedule that would kick off in November.

–Field Level Media