LARAMIE, Wyo. — In a new memorandum of understanding announced today by the conference, all seven remaining Mountain West schools have pledged their commitment to stay together.
It was also announced today that the seven schools, including the University of Wyoming, will be granting media rights directly to the conference from 2026 through 2032.
Conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in the announcement that it was the conference’s upmost priority to secure the remaining membership of the league. Now that an understanding between the remaining schools — UNLV, Hawaii, Nevada, Air Force, San Jose State, New Mexico and Wyoming — has been reached, it is time to look to the future.
“The agreements announced today mark a historic moment for the Mountain West and provide much-needed stability and clarity as the world of intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve rapidly,” Nevarez said. “We are excited about our future and are executing our next steps in expanding the Mountain West.”
However, holding onto the schools who had expressed interest in departing for other conferences will come at a price. In the new distribution payments the schools will all receive as part of this binding agreement, UNLV and Air Force take substantially bigger portions of the payout than the other five schools.
According to the Mountain West, Air Force and UNLV will receive 24.5% of the distribution payment, while Nevada, Wyoming, New Mexico and San Jose State get 15.83% each. Hawaii will get 5%.
In Laramie, University of Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman said in a UW Athletics release that Wyoming is in a good place in the ever-turbulent environment of college athletics.
“As one of the founding members of the Mountain West Conference, both the league and the University of Wyoming put great emphasis on the experience for our student-athletes,” Burman said in the release. “We are excited to continue our work and relationship into the future.”
The athletics director added that the Mountain West is committed to finding its eighth member in order to comply with NCAA rules.
For more information on University of Wyoming Athletics, see the department’s web page.
