# 2026 Mountain West Conference football season
The 2026 [Mountain West Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/mountain-west-conference) football season is the 28th season of Mountain West football and the first played under a substantially restructured membership, with ten football-playing teams after five longtime members departed for the Pac-12 and UC Davis, Hawai'i, and UTEP joined as full-time members on July 1, 2026.[1](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/sports/2026/5/28/this-is-mountain-west.aspx) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b99add3193a97b1a0eb5d3366caee6a2) The season runs over 13 weeks and concludes with the Mountain West Football Championship Game on Friday, December 4, on FOX.[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) • [4](https://themw.com/news/2026/6/4/broadcast-details-announced-for-2026-mountain-west-football-championship-game.aspx)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Football members | Air Force, Hawai'i, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, San José State, UNLV, UTEP, Wyoming[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) |
| New full-time members (July 1, 2026) | UC Davis, Hawai'i (football-only since 2012), UTEP[1](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/sports/2026/5/28/this-is-mountain-west.aspx) |
| New affiliate members (2026) | North Dakota State (football), Northern Illinois (football and women's gymnastics), Utah Tech (baseball and men's soccer)[1](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/sports/2026/5/28/this-is-mountain-west.aspx) |
| Schedule size | 81 games, including 40 conference matchups, over 13 weeks[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) |
| Championship Game | Friday, December 4, 2026, on FOX for the seventh consecutive year; features the two teams with the highest conference win percentage[4](https://themw.com/news/2026/6/4/broadcast-details-announced-for-2026-mountain-west-football-championship-game.aspx) • [3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) |
| Departures | Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State left for the Pac-12 in 2026[2](https://apnews.com/article/b99add3193a97b1a0eb5d3366caee6a2) |
| Non-conference slate | 10 games against Autonomous 4 opponents, including UNLV hosting Cal in Week 5[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) |
## Realignment and new membership
**A rebuilt league.** Five Mountain West schools announced in 2025 that they would depart for the Pac-12 in 2026: Boise State, Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, and Fresno State.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b99add3193a97b1a0eb5d3366caee6a2) To fill the gap, the conference added the [University of California, Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-california-davis), the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, which had been a football-only member since 2012, and the [University of Texas at El Paso](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-texas-at-el-paso) as full-time members on July 1, 2026.[1](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/sports/2026/5/28/this-is-mountain-west.aspx) North Dakota State joined as a football-only affiliate, Northern Illinois as an affiliate in football and women's gymnastics, and Utah Tech in baseball and men's soccer.[1](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/sports/2026/5/28/this-is-mountain-west.aspx) [Grand Canyon University](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-canyon-university) had already accelerated its move from the Western Athletic Conference to July 2025, becoming the league's twelfth full-time (non-football) member.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b99add3193a97b1a0eb5d3366caee6a2) • [1](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/sports/2026/5/28/this-is-mountain-west.aspx)
The departures also produced litigation. The Pac-12 and several of the schools joining it had sued in California in 2024, arguing that a poaching clause in the conferences' football scheduling agreement was invalid; the clause required payments to the Mountain West of $10 million for the first team that left, rising by $500,000 for each additional team to a total of $55 million. In August 2026 the two conferences announced final agreements settling all pending litigation, with the statement covering Boise State, Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, and Fresno State.[5](https://apnews.com/article/91463c9911568e516e287156aa6c2b94)
## Schedule and format
The conference released its 2026 schedule in March 2026: 81 games, 40 of them conference matchups, spread over 13 weeks and ending with the championship game, which matches the two teams with the highest conference win percentage.[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) The season opened in Week 0 with four games, including North Dakota State's first game as a Football Bowl Subdivision member, a home contest against Jacksonville State. All ten league teams played in Week 1, which included UNLV traveling to Hawai'i in the first conference game for both programs' new configuration.[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx)
Each team plays eight to nine conference games, and the non-conference slate includes 10 games against Autonomous 4 opponents, among them UNLV hosting Cal in Week 5, plus games against six teams that finished the 2025 season nationally ranked.[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) Because North Dakota State needed to complete a full non-conference schedule, it plays at San José State in a non-conference game despite both being league members.[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) Under the conference's rotation rules, over a three-year schedule cycle every team faces nine of its 11 opponents twice, once at home and once away.[6](https://storage.googleapis.com/themw-com/2025/02/538a2f99-composite-2-6-25.pdf)
**Television.** The championship game is nationally televised on FOX for the seventh consecutive year.[4](https://themw.com/news/2026/6/4/broadcast-details-announced-for-2026-mountain-west-football-championship-game.aspx) The CW Network carries Mountain West games as part of 140 hours of regular-season college football across the ACC, Mountain West, and Pac-12 in 2026, its largest such offering, with [Jack McMullen](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-mcmullen) on play-by-play, [Cody Kessler](https://www.edgepedia.org/cody-kessler) as booth analyst, and Marshall Newhouse as sideline analyst for MW games.[7](https://www.cwtvpr.com/the-cw/releases/?view=102123-the-cw-network-sets-broadcast-teams-for-2026-acc-mountain-west-and-pac-12-college-football-season) League partners [CBS Sports](https://www.edgepedia.org/cbs-sports), FOX Sports, and CW Sports use a selection procedure that can shift games to non-Saturday dates before networks and kick times are assigned.[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx)
## Season to date
Through games of mid-October 2026, UNLV led the conference standings at 2-0 in league play (4-2 overall) on a three-game winning streak, followed by [New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-mexico) at 1-0 (4-1 overall). North Dakota State, Air Force, and Wyoming were each 2-1 in conference play, with the Bison at 5-1 overall, the best record in the league. Hawai'i, UTEP, and Northern Illinois occupied the bottom of the table, with the Rainbow Warriors 0-3 in conference play and 1-5 overall.[8](https://themw.com/standings.aspx?path=football)
Early results included North Dakota State's 38-32 win at Air Force on September 12, New Mexico's 61-7 rout of UTEP on October 3, UNLV's 13-7 win over North Dakota State on October 10, and Air Force's 28-7 win at Northern Illinois the same day.[9](https://mountainwestfootball.co/scores)
## Championship game and tiebreakers
If teams finish level in the standings, the conference's published tiebreaking procedure applies; among its provisions, a maximum of one win against a team from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision counts, and a game ending in a tie counts as half a win and half a loss in the standings. A team ineligible under NCAA or Mountain West rules for postseason competition does not participate in the championship.[11](https://storage.googleapis.com/themw-com/2025/10/c71edc0a-2025-mw-football-championship-tiebreakers-final.pdf)
## Context
The 2026 season follows a 2025 campaign in which seven Mountain West teams played in bowl games, and the league has had at least one 10-win team in 24 of its first 26 seasons, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season.[3](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx) The conference also expanded its overall sports sponsorship to 21 in 2026-27 with the addition of men's soccer and men's swimming & diving.[1](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/sports/2026/5/28/this-is-mountain-west.aspx)
## References
1. [This is the Mountain West, Mountain West Conference](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/sports/2026/5/28/this-is-mountain-west.aspx)
2. [Grand Canyon University's move to the Mountain West has been accelerated, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/b99add3193a97b1a0eb5d3366caee6a2)
3. [Mountain West Announces 2026 Football Schedule, Mountain West Conference](https://mountainwest.sidearmsports.com/news/2026/6/4/mw-announces-2026-football-schedule.aspx)
4. [Broadcast Details Announced for 2026 Mountain West Football Championship Game, Mountain West Conference](https://themw.com/news/2026/6/4/broadcast-details-announced-for-2026-mountain-west-football-championship-game.aspx)
5. [Pac-12, Mountain West conferences finalize settlement over 'poaching' and exit fees, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/91463c9911568e516e287156aa6c2b94)
6. [Mountain West Regulation 6 (Football)](https://storage.googleapis.com/themw-com/2025/02/538a2f99-composite-2-6-25.pdf)
7. [The CW Network Sets Broadcast Teams for 2026 ACC, Mountain West, and Pac-12 College Football Season, CW Press](https://www.cwtvpr.com/the-cw/releases/?view=102123-the-cw-network-sets-broadcast-teams-for-2026-acc-mountain-west-and-pac-12-college-football-season)
8. [2026 Football Standings, Mountain West Conference](https://themw.com/standings.aspx?path=football)
9. [Mountain West Scores 2026, MountainWestFootball.co](https://mountainwestfootball.co/scores)
10. [The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Mountain West Predictions, Mountain West Connection](https://www.mwcconnection.com/new-mexico-lobos-football/87549/the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-mountain-west-predictions)
11. [Mountain West Football Championship Tiebreaking Procedures](https://storage.googleapis.com/themw-com/2025/10/c71edc0a-2025-mw-football-championship-tiebreakers-final.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › College, minor, and international American football › College football programs › 2026 season articles › FBS team season articles › Group of Five conference teams*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license