For nearly two years, the Mountain West has been fighting for its future.
New Mexico now has an opportunity to take control of its own.
What initially looked like a devastating round of conference realignment with Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Colorado State and Utah State leaving for the Pac-12 has created something few Lobo fans could have envisioned when the dominoes first began to fall.
Opportunity.
The Mountain West and Pac-12 have settled their legal battle, ending uncertainty around
poaching penalties and exit fees and allowing both conferences to move forward.
But for New Mexico, this is about much more than the end of a courtroom fight.
The Lobos remain in a stabilized Mountain West with a new television agreement, potential settlement revenue and, most importantly, a dramatically different competitive landscape.
For decades, New Mexico has competed in a conference featuring several programs with larger athletic budgets, stronger football histories or consistent national success.
Many of those programs are now gone.
That does not diminish what the Mountain West lost.
It changes what is possible for New Mexico.
The Balance of Power Has Changed
Consider how dramatically the Mountain West landscape has shifted.
Boise State, the unquestioned standard of Mountain West football for much of the past two decades, is gone.
Fresno State is gone.
San Diego State is gone.
Colorado State and Utah State are gone.
In basketball, San Diego State developed into the conference’s premier national program, reaching the NCAA championship game in 2023. Utah State also became one of the league’s most consistent contenders.
They’re gone, too.
Those departures hurt the Mountain West from a national-brand perspective.
But they also create something every remaining program has wanted for years:
A chance to establish a new hierarchy.
There is no longer a Boise State sitting atop Mountain West football.
There is no longer a San Diego State setting the standard in Mountain West basketball.
Those positions are available.
And New Mexico has a legitimate opportunity to claim them.
New Mexico Football Couldn’t Have Picked a Better Time to Rise
Timing matters.
And the timing of this new Mountain West could hardly be better for Lobo football.
New Mexico is coming off a breakthrough 2025 season under Jason Eck, winning nine games during the regular season, finishing 6-2 in Mountain West play and earning the program’s first bowl appearance since 2016.
The Lobos didn’t simply show improvement.
They showed they can compete for a Mountain West championship.
Now remove Boise State, Fresno State and San Diego State from the picture.
Suddenly, the road looks considerably different.
That doesn’t mean it will be easy.
UNLV has established itself as a contender. Air Force remains one of the most difficult programs in the country to prepare for. Wyoming is always physical. Hawaii, Nevada and San Jose State will also have opportunities to rise.
The league’s newcomers also bring intrigue.
North Dakota State arrives at the FBS level with one of the greatest winning traditions in FCS history. Northern Illinois brings decades of football success. UTEP provides New Mexico with a natural regional opponent.
The new Mountain West will still have good football programs.
But there is no longer one established king.
Someone has to become the new standard.
After what Jason Eck accomplished in his first season, there is no reason New Mexico shouldn’t believe it can be that program.
For years, the Lobos were chasing the Mountain West’s traditional powers.
Now they have an opportunity to make the rest of the conference chase them.
Basketball May Present an Even Bigger Opportunity
If the opportunity for New Mexico football is significant, the opportunity for Lobo basketball under head coach Eric Olen could be even greater.
What Olen accomplished in his first season in Albuquerque should give Lobo fans plenty of reason for optimism. With 26 wins and a run to the NIT Final Four in Year One, Olen quickly demonstrated that New Mexico can compete at a high level under his leadership.
Now, with the Mountain West landscape dramatically changing and traditional powers San Diego State and Utah State moving on, the path to the top of the conference looks much different.
If Olen’s first season was any indication of where this program is headed, the future of Lobo basketball in the new Mountain West looks extremely bright.
New Mexico already possesses something few programs in the new Mountain West can duplicate:
The Pit.
The history is there.
The fan base is there.
The atmosphere is there.
The national recognition is there.
And now the opportunity is there.
The departures of San Diego State and Utah State remove two programs that consistently ranked at the top of the Mountain West standings and represented the conference nationally.
That creates a massive opening.
Eric Olen enters his second season at New Mexico after winning 26 games and taking the Lobos to the NIT Final Four in Year One despite inheriting an entirely new roster and coaching staff.
Now there is continuity.
There is momentum.
And there is a Mountain West without San Diego State and Utah State standing in the way.
New Mexico does not need to apologize for benefiting from that reality.
That’s college athletics.
Programs leave. Conferences change. Opportunities emerge.
The responsibility now falls on New Mexico to capitalize on it.
With its tradition, fan support, recruiting potential and one of college basketball’s great home-court environments, UNM should enter this new era expecting to compete for Mountain West championships.
Not occasionally.
Consistently.
New Mexico’s Financial Position Gets Stronger
The benefits extend beyond wins and losses.
New Mexico remained committed to the Mountain West when the conference’s future was uncertain. That decision could now pay significant financial dividends.
Under the Mountain West’s retention structure, New Mexico is positioned to receive a share of qualifying funds generated through the realignment process.
The final settlement’s financial terms have not been publicly disclosed. Putting an exact dollar figure on UNM’s eventual benefit would be premature.
But additional conference revenue arrives at an important moment.
College athletics has entered the revenue-sharing era.
Programs are spending more on recruiting, NIL infrastructure, athlete retention, facilities, nutrition, strength and conditioning, coaching staffs and the overall student-athlete experience.
Every dollar matters.
For New Mexico, which historically hasn’t operated with the financial advantages enjoyed by many larger athletic departments, these resources provide another opportunity to close the gap.
Money alone won’t transform an athletic department. Combine all of this with a brand-new, very young Athletic Director Ryan Berryman who has the backing of the entire UNM Athletic Department, and the future is bright for UNM.
What you do with it will.
And New Mexico now has an opportunity to turn the financial fallout from realignment into investment in its future.
National Exposure Isn’t Going Away
One major concern surrounding the rebuilt Mountain West was television.
Would losing Boise State and San Diego State dramatically reduce the conference’s visibility?
Would New Mexico play games that were increasingly difficult for fans across the country to watch?
The Mountain West’s new media-rights agreement provides an answer.
New Mexico will continue to have opportunities for national exposure through the conference’s television partners.
That’s significant for recruiting.
It’s significant for fans.
It’s significant for donors.
And it’s significant for building the New Mexico brand outside Albuquerque.
The Lobos are not disappearing because other programs left.
They now have an opportunity to occupy more of the spotlight those programs left behind.
New Mexico Matters More to This Mountain West
This might be the most overlooked benefit of realignment.
New Mexico’s value to the Mountain West has increased.
UNM isn’t simply another member of the conference anymore.
It is one of the league’s most established institutions and recognizable athletic brands.
New Mexico brings one of the conference’s strongest basketball traditions.
It brings The Pit.
It brings the Albuquerque market.
It brings a football program trending upward.
It brings decades of conference history.
And it brings a fan base that has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to support winning programs.
All of that allows New Mexico to become more influential in shaping the Mountain West’s future.
The schools that once dominated much of the conference conversation have left.
Someone else gets that microphone now.
New Mexico needs to grab it.
Stop Looking at What the Mountain West Lost
There will be inevitable comparisons between the old Mountain West and the new one.
People will talk about Boise State.
They’ll talk about San Diego State.
They’ll talk about Fresno State, Utah State and Colorado State.
And they’ll ask whether the Mountain West is as strong as it once was.
Those are fair questions.
But they are no longer New Mexico’s most important questions.
The Lobos can’t control who left.
They can control what happens next.
Instead of looking back at what the conference lost, New Mexico should look directly at what those departures created.
A clearer path to football championships.
An opportunity to become a dominant basketball program.
Additional financial resources.
Continued national television exposure.
A greater voice within the conference.
And an opportunity to become one of the defining brands of the new Mountain West.
That is the story for New Mexico.
The Door Is Wide Open
Conference realignment is often discussed in terms of winners and losers.
For New Mexico, this period may eventually be seen as something surprising.
What initially appeared to be one of the most uncertain moments in Mountain West history may have created one of the greatest opportunities UNM Athletics has had in decades.
The legal battle is over.
The Mountain West survived.
The conference has rebuilt.
The television future is secure.
The old hierarchy has been dismantled.
And now somebody has to lead what comes next.
Why not New Mexico?
Jason Eck has already demonstrated that Lobo football can win.
Eric Olen has already demonstrated that Lobo basketball can win.
The fan base is there.
The facilities continue to improve.
The financial opportunity is growing.
And for perhaps the first time in years, New Mexico doesn’t have to wonder how it can catch the programs sitting at the top of the Mountain West.
Those programs left.
The top is there for the taking.
Realignment changed everything.
For New Mexico, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
It could be the opening the Lobos have been waiting for.
The door to the top of the new Mountain West is wide open.
Now it’s time for New Mexico to kick it down.
