Mountain West Conference
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mountain West Conference | |
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| Data | |
| Established | 1999 |
| Members | 9 |
| Sports fielded | 14 |
| Region | Western United States |
| States | 7 - California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming |
| Headquarters | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Locations | |
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The Mountain West Conference (or MWC), the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division 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.
Charter members included Air Force, Brigham Young University, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah, and Wyoming. Prior to banding together to form the Mountain West Conference, all of the charter members had been aligned with the Western Athletic Conference. Texas Christian University joined the Mountain West in 2005 from Conference USA.
A former conference also known as the "Mountain West Conference" existed from 1982-88, sponsoring championships for women’s sports at the same institutions with which Big Sky Conference had men’s programs. The Big Sky merged with the former Mountain West in 1988, forming one league (the present Big Sky Conference) for both men and women.
Contents |
[edit] Members
| Institution | Nickname | Links | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Year Joined |
| United States Air Force Academy | Falcons | Football | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Public/Federal | 4,000 | 1999 |
| Brigham Young University | Cougars | Football Basketball Soccer |
Provo, Utah | Private | 32,400 | 1999 |
| Colorado State University | Rams | Fort Collins, Colorado | Public/State | 26,418 | 1999 | |
| University of New Mexico | Lobos | Basketball | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Public/State | 24,092 | 1999 |
| San Diego State University | Aztecs | SDSU Aztecs | San Diego, California | Public/State | 34,500 | 1999 |
| Texas Christian University | Horned Frogs | TCU Horned Frogs | Fort Worth, Texas | Private | 8,749 | 2005 |
| University of Nevada, Las Vegas | Rebels | Football | Las Vegas, Nevada | Public/State | 29,000 | 1999 |
| University of Utah | Utes | Utah Utes | Salt Lake City, Utah | Public/State | 29,192 | 1999 |
| University of Wyoming | Cowboys | Basketball | Laramie, Wyoming | Public/State | 13,162 | 1999 |
[edit] Sports
The MWC sponsors championships in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, skiing, women's soccer, swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball, football, softball, 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 (interestingly, for men's soccer, BYU fields a semi-professional team {see BYU Cougars soccer}, and San Diego State competes as a member of the Pacific Ten Conference).
[edit] Television network
In 2006, the MWC elected to discontinue affiliation with ESPN, due to a poor contract offer. ESPN wanted the MWC to play games on unusual nights (including Tuesdays and Wednesdays), and with an offer for less money[citation needed]. Instead, the MWC created its own network, the mtn., half owned by the cable giant Comcast, and under the umbrella of CBS owned CSTV. the mtn. was not picked up by satellite companies. Although many MWC games are played on sister CBS broadcasting companies, like Versus and CSTV, the majority of the games are only available on the mtn., which at first was only viewable in parts of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. To this day, the mtn. is only available through Comcast service in the Salt Lake City market, and that provider is not available in all areas of the market, leaving many traditionally loyal conference fans out of options to see their teams play. After four months, cable viewers in San Diego and Las Vegas were able to order the mtn.; it is still largely unavailable in the Mountain West's largest television market, Dallas-Fort Worth.
Despite promises from Commissioner Craig Thompson, the mtn. network is still not available on any of the satellite television providers.
Further driving the criticism of the television deal is the convoluted and confusing relationship between the mtn., CSTV, and Versus, and Comcast's bundling strategy around these stations. The Mountain West Conference football and basketball games are divided between the three networks, however, Comcast only offers these three stations together on a high-priced package, leaving fans to pay much higher prices to see their teams play.
The television deal has been especially contentious in Salt Lake City, the conference's most important market. Fans and schools originally thought the deal would simply replace games traditionally broadcast by ESPN, leaving the remaining schedule available for local network pickup. This, however, was not the case, and fans in that market, used to seeing all football and basketball games on network television, are left scrambling to change television service providers to Comcast, often finding that service is not available in their neighborhood, or that their game of interest isn't televised, event on the mtn.
The culmination of this discontent was witnessed at LaVelle Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, November 25, 2006. MWC commissioner Craig Thompson was on site to deliver the BYU Cougars the conference champion trophy, and when introduced, fans greeted him with an overwhelming chorus of boos.
Launched on September 1, 2006 by the Mountain West Conference (MWC), College Sports TV (CSTV), and Comcast, the "mtn." (the MountainWest Sports Network) (pronounced and referred to as "the mountain") is a 24-hour channel devoted entirely to covering MWC games from all sports.
Additionally, Versus (formerly OLN) will televise selected men's football and basketball games.
[edit] Conference Champions
[edit] 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 |
BYU | UNLV | Regular Season Tournament |
Source:[1]
[edit] 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 |
Regular Season Utah Tournament UNLV |
Regular Season and Tournament Utah |
BYU |
Source:[1]
[edit] Football Rivalries
[edit] Conference
| Schools | First Meeting |
Game | Trophy | Reigning Champion | |
| Utah | BYU | 1922 | The Holy War | Beehive Boot | BYU |
| Wyoming | BYU | 1922 | BYU | ||
| New Mexico | Utah | 1945 | New Mexico | ||
| Colorado State | Wyoming | 1968 | Border War | Bronze Boot | Wyoming |
| Air Force | Colorado State | 1980 | Ram-Falcon Trophy | Air Force | |
[edit] Non-Conference
| Schools | First Meeting |
Game | Trophy | Reigning Champion (Last Meeting) |
Next Meeting |
|
| Utah | Utah State | 1892 | Battle of the Brothers | Beehive Boot | Utah (2006) | 2007 |
| Colorado State | Colorado | 1893 | Rocky Mountain Showdown | Centennial Cup | Colorado State (2006) | 2007 |
| New Mexico | New Mexico State | 1894 | Battle of I-25 | Maloof Trophy | New Mexico (2006) | 2007 |
| New Mexico | Arizona | 1908 | Kit Carson Rifle | Arizona (1990) | 2007 | |
| TCU | SMU | 1915 | Battle for the Iron Skillet | Iron Skillet | SMU (2005) | 2007 |
| New Mexico | UTEP | 1919 | Rio Grande Championship | New Mexico (2006) | 2007 | |
| BYU | Hawai'i | 1930 | BYU (2002) | |||
| San Diego State | San Jose State | 1935 | San Jose State (2006) | |||
| UNLV | Nevada | 1969 | Battle for Nevada | Fremont Cannon | Nevada (2006) | 2007 |
| Air Force, Army & Navy | 1972 | Commander in Chief's Trophy | Navy (2006) | 2007 | ||
[edit] Postseason Records
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[edit] Conference Facilities
| School | Football Stadia | Capacity | Basketball Arenas | Capacity | Baseball Stadia | Capacity |
| Air Force | Falcon Stadium | 52,123 | Clune Arena | 5,939 | Falcon Baseball Field | 1,000 |
| BYU | LaVell Edwards Stadium | 65,524 | Marriott Center | 22,700 | Larry H. Miller Field | 2,300 |
| Colorado State | Hughes Stadium | 35,000 | Moby Arena | 8,745 | No baseball team | |
| New Mexico | University Stadium | 42,000 | University Arena | 18,018 | Isotopes Park | 11,124 |
| San Diego State | Qualcomm Stadium | 71,294 | Cox Arena | 12,414 | Tony Gwynn Stadium | 3,000 |
| TCU | Amon G. Carter Stadium | 46,083 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum | 7,200 | Lupton Stadium | 3,500 |
| UNLV | Sam Boyd Stadium | 40,000 | 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 | Franklin Covey Field | 15,500 |
| Wyoming | War Memorial Stadium | 33,500 | Arena-Auditorium | 15,028 | No baseball team | |
[edit] External link
| NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision Football Conferences: |
| Atlantic Coast Conference* – Big 12 Conference* – Big East Conference* – Big Ten Conference* – Conference USA – Mid-American Conference – Mountain West Conference – Pacific Ten Conference* – Southeastern Conference* – Sun Belt Conference – Western Athletic Conference – Independents |
| * – BCS Conference |
| Mountain West Conference |
|---|
| Air Force • BYU • Colorado State • New Mexico • San Diego State (SDSU Aztecs) • TCU (TCU Horned Frogs) • UNLV • Utah (Utah Utes) • Wyoming Related Pages: MountainWest Sports Network (mtn.) |
| Mountain West Conference Head Football Coaches |
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| Troy Calhoun (Air Force) • Bronco Mendenhall (BYU) • Sonny Lubick (CSU) • Rocky Long (New Mexico) • Chuck Long (SDSU) • Gary Patterson (TCU) • Mike Sanford (UNLV) • Kyle Whittingham (Utah) • Joe Glenn (Wyoming) |
| Current Football Stadiums in the Mountain West Conference |
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| Amon G. Carter Stadium (TCU) • Falcon Stadium (Air Force) • Hughes Stadium (Colorado State) • LaVell Edwards Stadium (BYU) • Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego State) • Rice-Eccles Stadium (Utah) • Sam Boyd Stadium (UNLV) • University Stadium (New Mexico) • War Memorial Stadium (Wyoming) |
| Current Basketball Arenas in the Mountain West Conference |
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| Arena-Auditorium (Wyoming) • Clune Arena (Air Force) • Cox Arena (San Diego State) • Cox Pavilion (UNLV women) • Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (TCU) • Huntsman Center (Utah) • Marriott Center (BYU) • Moby Arena (Colorado State) •The Pit (New Mexico) • Thomas & Mack Center (UNLV men) |
