Amidst Conference Realignment, Mountain West Doesn’t Back Down From a Challenge

The landscape of college football will look vastly different in the next few years, and that isn’t due just to name, image, and likeness (NIL), but also to the growing conference realignment across the country.

Notable conference changes include Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC and the departure of USC and UCLA from the PAC-12.

Despite these changes, one conference – The Mountain West – remains intact. When faced with an opportunity to leave, Air Force, Colorado State, Boise State, and San Diego State all chose to stick with Mountain West over joining the AAC (CBS Sports).

The Mountain West remains stable and continues to challenge itself with greater programs to compete against its 12 football programs: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San José State, UNLV, Utah State, and Wyoming. 

They don’t shy away from a challenge, particularly regarding the Power 5 schools made up of the  ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC-12, and SEC. There are 18 games against Power Five teams this season, including Michigan, Alabama, Oregon State, and LSU. All 12 Mountain West football programs play at least one game against a Power Five opponent. 

They don’t just play against more renowned programs. They often win. San Diego State is 7-4 against the PAC-12 since 2015. This record includes a defeat of the PAC-12 Champion Utah in triple overtime last season. Fresno State also had a statement 40-37 victory over UCLA during the 2021 season. 

Not backing down from a challenge comes with its perks. One such perk is the NFL recognition that the Mountain West experiences; 55 former players are on active NFL rosters as of Sept. 8, 2022 (Mountain West). Next time a conference realignment conversation comes up, it is worth noting the stability and interconference play of the Mountain West, at least for the time being.