Realignment and branding lead to-do list for Mountain West's new commissioner
Gloria Nevarez takes over the Mountain West as its second commissioner after Craig Thompson with plenty of immediate issues to tackle.
theathletic.com
Good story... A few notes from the story (these are direct quotes):
- The only other commissioner in Mountain West history, Craig Thompson, was a million-miler on two airlines, lauded by conference members for always making himself available.
- The MWC has lost only three members in its 24-year history. TCU played in the CFP national championship last month, Utah won its second consecutive Pac-12 football title and BYU is joining the Big 12. That’s a good track record. The AAC was raided last year, and now eyes are on the MWC.
- What the Mountain West does in response depends on what happens. If it loses one or multiple teams, does it need replacements? There aren’t many geographic fits in the FBS outside of UTEP or New Mexico State in Conference USA. North Dakota State is one of the most successful teams at any level of football, with nine FCS national championships in the past 12 years, and it has prepared itself for an FBS move if the right fit comes. South Dakota State just beat NDSU in the FCS championship game and is amid its best football run in school history, and Montana and Montana State have winning football traditions, though their athletic budgets are far below current MWC teams.
- Though the conference is typically deep, it often fails to produce one standout team above the rest, with Boise State not quite as powerful as it once was.Men’s basketball has emerged as another strength. Four MWC teams made the NCAA Tournament last year, and the league has five teams in the top 40 of the NET rankings, just one of five conferences that can say that.
- Everyone The Athletic spoke with agreed the biggest area for improvement is pushing the conference’s message and brand.
- Other topics Nevarez will face down the line include the conference office’s lease in Colorado Springs, which comes up in 2025, and the television deal, which runs through 2025-26. Most MWC schools earn around $4 million annually in television money. That’s behind the AAC but far ahead of the other G5 leagues.
- Boise State’s special TV revenue carve-out for its home games has been a point of contention in the past, with the school threatening legal action against the conference in 2020 over the possibility of that going away.
- Late kickoff times have also frustrated fans, and Nevarez has heard that already. Negotiations on the next media rights deal are less than two years away.
