Is this going to be the new norm for the Mountain West Conference? The conference is just a few years removed from being one that sent four teams to the Big Dance on a regular basis, and even one season sending six, to a conference that just sent one this season. With realignment on the horizon, one has to ask the aforementioned question; is this now the new norm or just an aberration? With the five teams departing in July; Boise State, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Colorado State, the conference sees
a lot of the teams that carried it to national prominence leaving.
While the additions of Grand Canyon and Hawaii have somewhat bolstered the basketball side of things, the additions pale in comparison to what is being lost. Also, of the remaining teams that the MWC has, only New Mexico has challenged in recent years for the conference championship.
The conference has to rest their laurels on not only New Mexico being a contender year in and year out, but also that Grand Canyon keeps its steady rise going and also hope for a rekindling of success from both Nevada and UNLV.
Both new additions, UC-Davis and UTEP, have hovered right around the .500 mark for the last decade, with UC-Davis being over more often than not. Hawaii did make the tournament this season but have been a lot like UC-Davis in just barely making it above .500 many seasons. Northern Illinois is considered by many to be a football move for the conference and being that the team hasn’t seen a winning season since the 2019-20 season those people look to be correct. Wyoming has been up and down recently, and San Jose State and Air Force don’t provide formidable, consistent, tournament teams.
While the conference bolstered their football prospects, the Mountain West Conference has fallen to the depths of mid-major status. Fans may not see four or six teams receiving bids any longer. We need to get used to one or two. And the 2025-26 season gave us a preview of such, even with the departing powerhouses.
