BYU Football Guide: University

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST

From its inception in 1999, the Mountain West Conference has been committed to excellence in intercollegiate athletics, while promoting the academic missions of its member institutions. Progressive in its approach, the MWC continues to cultivate opportunities for student-athletes to compete at the highest level, while fostering academic achievement and sportsmanship. Now in its tenth year, the MWC has been assertive in its involvement with the NCAA governance structure and has taken a leadership role in the overall administration of intercollegiate athletics.

The Mountain West Conference is noted for its geographic diversity. Some of the most beautiful terrain and landscapes in the nation can be found within Mountain West Conference boundaries, including the majestic Rocky Mountain range, which borders four MWC schools (Utah, BYU, Air Force and Colorado State). The high plains of Wyoming (elevation 7,220 feet – the highest Division I campus in the nation) contrast with the desert city of Las Vegas (the fastest growing metropolitan area in the West) and the Pacific Ocean locale of San Diego State. The southwestern flavor of New Mexico complements the western heritage and culture of Fort Worth, Texas, home of the MWC’s newest member, TCU.

The Mountain West Conference was conceived on May 26, 1998, when the presidents of eight institutions — Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming — decided to form a new NCAA Division I-A intercollegiate athletic conference. The split from the former 16-team conference re-established continuity and stability among the membership within the new league and signaled the continuation of its tradition-rich, long-standing athletic rivalries. Five of the MWC’s eight original members have been conference rivals since the 1960s (BYU, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State), while San Diego State (1978) and Air Force (1980) were longtime members as well. UNLV entered the fold in 1996 and TCU began its first year of competition in 2005-06, completing the membership in the MWC as it stands today.

In the summer of 2006 saw the historic launch of The Mtn. – the first sports network dedicated to serving a single collegiate athletic conference. The Mtn. provides sports fans blanket coverage of MWC athletics across multiple sports, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s Olympic sports. The Mtn. features more than just live games and has added its own original programming. Fans get a comprehensive array of news, features and analysis about their favorite MWC teams and players.

The MWC television package will continue to reach a national audience in 2009-10 through a combination of telecasts on The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.), CBS College Sports Network and VERSUS. The Mtn. is available to cable subscribers throughout the Western U.S. and nationally through DirectTV and Comcast.

The MWC has remained steadfast in its mission to promote the league’s athletic events to national and regional television audiences and will continue to grow its new TV model. Previously, ESPN served as the league’s inaugural official television partner, while in-house productions guaranteed coverage for several MWC Olympic sports. Through the league’s first nine years, excluding institutional local packages, 1,200 football, volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball events have aired on television, with 178 football games and over 159 men’s basketball contests broadcast nationally.

The 2008 season was a landmark year for Mountain West football. The MWC finished the 2008 season with three teams ranked in the top 25, including two in the top 10, for the first time in league history. Utah finished No. 2 in the Associated Press and No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls. TCU was No. 7 in both polls, while BYU was No. 21 in the Coaches’ poll and No. 25 in the AP. The MWC was tied with the Big 12 and SEC with two teams in the top seven.

Over the past five seasons, the MWC owns the best win percentage in bowl games among the 11 conferences with a 14-7 mark (.667). The SEC is second with a 24-13 (.649) record, followed by the Pac-10 at 18-10 (.643). The MWC also is 7-3 against BCS automatic-qualifying conferences in bowl games since 2004.

Over the last two years, Utah is 22-4 and BYU is 21-5 overall. Only five teams in the country have achieved more wins over that two-year span (USC, Oklahoma, Boise State, Texas, Missouri).

BYU is one of only nine teams to be ranked in final AP Poll each of the past three seasons (Florida, USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Georgia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia). BYU is the only program from a non-automatic qualifying BCS conference to be ranked in the final polls each of the last three seasons.

2008 FINAL MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS THE MWC – AN ELITE FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

The MWC became the first non-automatic-qualifying BCS conference to have three teams ranked all eight weeks of the BCS Standings in 2008. The MWC was one of three conferences with at least three teams ranked in the top 16 (Big 12 - 4, SEC - 3) of the final standings - Utah ranked No. 6, TCU 11th and BYU at No. 16. The MWC is the first non-automatic-qualifying conference in the BCS era to have three teams ranked in the top 25 of the final Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls. It is also the first time two teams have finished in the top 10 (Utah No. 2 and TCU No. 7). Three MWC teams ranked among the top 20 in the national polls for eight consecutive weeks during the regular season.

A LOOK AT THE 2009 SCHEDULE

The 2009 Mountain West Conference football schedule is comprised of 72 games. Fifty-four of the 55 MWC-controlled gamesare set for Saturdays (98 percent). The MWC will play 14 games against BCS automatic-qualifying conference opponents, including six against the Big 12, three match-ups with both the ACC and Pac-10, and one each against the Big East and Big Ten. The remainder of the nonconferenceschedule features 10 games against the WAC, three match-ups with CUSA and one contest with the Sun Belt. The non-conference schedule also features 13 contests against teams that earned bowl berths in 2008, including Clemson, Florida State, Hawai`i, Minnesota, Navy, Nevada (two games), Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Texas, Texas Tech and Tulsa. Six opponents finished ranked in last year’s final Top 25 polls (USA Today/AP) – #3/4 Texas, #5/5 Oklahoma, #9/10 Oregon, #12/12 Texas Tech, #19/18 Oregon State and #23/21 Florida State.

RECORDS AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE BCS OPPONENTS

The Mountain West posted the best record the in the Football Bowl Subdivision this season against automatic-qualifying-BCS Conferences with a 10-6 mark (including Notre Dame). Five of the nine MWC teams chalked up victories.

BOWL GAMES OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST