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About Mountain
West
The Birth of a Conference
The Mountain West Conference was
conceived on May 26, 1998, when the presidents of eight institutions - Air
Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah
and Wyoming - met in Denver and decided to form the MWC.
The
cornerstone of the conference's formation was the maintenance of long standing
athletic rivalries among its member institutions. Hence the Mountain West
Conference was formed. Located in Colorado Springs, Colo., when the MWC's doors
opened for business the new league had in place a seven-year contract with ESPN
giving the broadcaster exclusive national television rights to MWC football and
men's basketball; and three-year agreements to send the league's football
champion to the Liberty Bowl and a second team to the Las Vegas Bowl.
The Conference officially began operations on July 1, 1999. Prior to
opening it doors an executive committee was established and named Craig
Thompson commissioner. Thompson had less than one-year to name the new league,
settle on a city to serve as the league's headquarters, find a television
partner, arrange for bowl tie-ins, hire staff, and develop a logo.
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