LARAMIE, Wyo. — During a one-on-one conversation with University of Wyoming Athletics Director for Communications Ryan Thorburn published Friday, Athletics Director Tom Burman said that UW is as disappointed as its fan base in the four FBS teams leaving the Mountain West for the Pac-12. However, Burman said that UW will not go down in relevancy or subdivision.
One of the first points that Burman emphasized was his belief that the traditional rivalries important to the university’s fan base won’t go anywhere.
“I believe the Border War will continue. I have talked to John, the AD at Colorado State, and I believe that’s what he thinks,” Burman said in his conversation with Thorburn. “It’s in all of our best interests that we play CSU in multiple sports every year. It’s 66 miles away. College athletics has lost its balance and we’re traveling sports teams all over the country to compete. This is one that just makes sense. And I would say, let’s just not screw it up.”
According to Burman, the news that CSU, Boise State, Fresno State and San Diego State were departing wasn’t completely shocking to the Wyoming’s athletics department. Regardless, it is a blow to the sports atmosphere of the state knowing that many of the games that fans could look forward to every year may not occur annually anymore.
“I know I believed, and I think most people in the Mountain West believed, that this may happen, but it would be down the road after Oregon State and Washington State used the full two years that the NCAA had given them to try to figure out a path forward,” Burman said.
The future of Wyoming sports and the Mountain West
Despite whatever the athletics programs at the remaining Mountain West schools as well as the conference itself believed, this realignment is happening sooner than anticipated. Looking ahead, Burman predicted that UW will remain at the FBS level and the Mountain West will not cease to be relevant in the grand scheme of college athletics.
“We have no desire to look at going down. The state of Wyoming is not a place that goes down; we fight, we grind away to stay relevant. I think we will,” Burman said. “What we can bring to the table is one of the most engaged fan bases in the West. We can bring to the table good facilities and improving facilities.”
The broader implications that a growing Pac-12 and shrinking Mountain West present don’t worry Burman, either. Instead of the expected five conferences vying for a spot in the NCAA College Football Playoffs, now there will be six.
“We’re all competing for that one spot to have access to the national championship. I think you’re going to be able to do it from the Mountain West,” Burman said. “You’re going to have to schedule creatively just like they’re going to have to schedule creatively. And you’re going to have to win games.”
Finally, Burman said that now it is more important than ever that the remaining Mountain West teams go through this adjustment process together. Because the Mountain West is now sitting at only eight teams, the NCAA minimum for a conference’s eligibility, and because the Pac-12 is still shopping for more teams, expansion is now also in the MW’s future.
“If they fail, it’s likely they’re going to circle back to the Mountain West and we could lose an additional member or two members. So that’s why expansion is very, very important,” Burman said.
With the over $100 million that the Pac-12 is now forced to fish out to the Mountain West for the four teams’ departure penalties and a non-poaching clause in the two conferences’ scheduling contract, the conference has a lot more leverage in finding those additional teams.
The conference shift for the four departing teams officially takes effect in summer 2026, which would then begin a two-year grace period for the Mountain West to meet eligibility requirements.
For more information on the Mountain West and the University of Wyoming Athletics, see the two programs’ respective web pages.
