By Niles Hall (@n23hall) – Content Editor | SJSU junior linebacker Naseri Danielson addresses the media on July. 15 (Photo by Alex Stoev – Spear Photographer)
The Mountain West Conference showcased its new-look football conference at its media days in preparation for the looming 2026 season.
The conference welcomed North Dakota State University, Northern Illinois University and the University of Texas at El Paso. The institutions will add new fans, traditions and uncertainty.
“In football specifically, NIU, NDSU and UTEP bring exciting competition, new markets and resurrect some old rivalries,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said.
The conference’s additions also came with departures, as Colorado State, Boise State, San Diego State and Fresno State joined the Pac-12.
A common theme throughout Mountain West Media Day was the intrigue surrounding the adjustments teams will make when facing unusual conference opponents.
From the University of Hawaii having to fly across the country to face NIU, making it one of the longest road trips in college football, to the incoming teams getting familiar with their new conference opponents’ schemes.
“You’re going to get a different style of play from every team. It’s exciting for fans but challenging for coaches,” UTEP head coach Scotty Walden said. “We’ve got a massive job to adapt our strategy.”
The conference’s biggest addition was the NDSU Bison, coming from the Football Championship Subdivision.
The Bison have dominated the FCS, winning 10 FCS championships in the past 14 years. They will look to continue their dominance in the Mountain West and beyond.
“The perfect inaugural season would be winning the Mountain West Championship and getting that college football playoff spot. The administration and past players did a good job getting us where we’re at,” NDSU senior quarterback Nathan Hayes said. “There’s no better way to show them that it was all worth it than to win every game and get that playoff bid.”
The Bison have earned the respect of coaches across the conference, with many acknowledging the program’s success.
“I like the new teams that have come. I’m lying, I don’t like the NDSU game because they’re a really good football team,” San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo said jokingly.
Along with NDSU aiming to be a top contender, the University of New Mexico and the University of Las Vegas will look to remain at the top of the conference.
New Mexico will look to prove that last year’s second-best conference record wasn’t a facade, and UNLV will have unfinished business after losing three straight MW championship games.
Senior New Mexico linebacker Jaxton Eck is coming off an outstanding campaign, which resulted in him winning the preseason MW Player of the Year award. Along with Hawaii, sophomore quarterback Micah Alejado won the MW offensive preseason Player of the Year award.
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are coming off a successful 9-4 season, fueled by Alejado’s performance. The team will look to reach another level next season in his third year in the system.
The proven teams will have to deal with conference teams having an underdog mentality after disappointing 2025 campaigns.
SJSU football came into last year with high expectations, but fell short of expectations. The team will look to use last year’s failures as motivation.
“Coach Niumatalolo always brings that up to us,” SJSU junior linebacker Naseri Danielson said. “We want to prove ourselves every game, and every day we’ve gone into every day this offseason with that mentality.”
The Air Force Academy is looking to avoid three straight losing seasons, something that hasn’t been done in school history. The University of Nevada, Reno, is entering head coach Jeff Choate’s third season in hopes of igniting the fanbase after a disappointing 6-19 record in his first two seasons in charge.
The Mountain West enters a new football era with a redesigned championship trophy, uncertainty, new faces and huge storylines.
