Commissioner Gloria Nevarez says Mountain West finally has firm footing

LAS VEGAS (AP) — It was just more than a month ago when the Mountain West’s future was very much in doubt, and even though realignment seems to be never-ending, commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday she feels the conference is finally in a good place.

The decisions by UNLV and Air Force to remain in the conference, the addition of UTEP and making Hawaii a full member will give the Mountain West the minimum eight full-time programs beginning in 2026 to remain in good standing with the NCAA as an FBS conference.

That was not such a sure thing after five schools departed for the Pac-12 Conference last month.

“I do feel a lot better because we are secure till ’32,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at conference basketball media days. “We have a core membership, and I think everyone in the core membership is committed and in it to win it. The buy-in is really strong.”

Nevarez had to act quickly to keep the league together after Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State announced Sept. 12 they would leave in 2026 to join Oregon State and Washington State in helping rebuild the Pac-12.

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Then the Mountain West was really rocked when Utah State also said 11 days later it would leave for the Pac-12, which also invited UNLV. But UNLV announced Sept. 25 that it would stay, which prompted Air Force to make the same commitment to give the Mountain West a much-needed lifeline.

“All the (athletic directors) and all the presidents were able to cut through to the core issues and what makes us good for all of us,” Nevarez said. “We got to a great place. I think everyone’s happy with it.”

The work was still not done because the Mountain West needed two more full-time members. The conference got those by announcing Oct. 1 that UTEP would join in 2026 and by making Hawaii — which has played football only in the league since 2012 — a full-time member as well.

Hawaii has helped pay for travel expenses to conference football teams, but Nevarez said there will be no more subsidies to visiting teams in any sport. She said most sports won’t be affected because they either have events on the mainland or travel to Hawaii every other year, which can be offset by how nonconference schedules are assembled.

Basketball and volleyball are trickier, Nevarez said, because those are annual trips.

“We really need to think about how to balance those out,” Nevarez said. “But we have been an airplane league forever. It’s just the nature of the Western region.”

The Mountain West could look to add more schools or even look for a basketball-only member, such as regional power Saint Mary’s. Nevarez wouldn’t discuss what potential plans the conference might be considering.

The conference appears to be in a secure spot for now — member schools committed until 2032 — but Nevarez acknowledged realignment is an ever-changing landscape.

“Whatever’s happening, I think it starts on the East Coast like this current realignment did,” Nevarez said. “We have to be ready to react for that because I think it’s being pulled by conferences that aren’t in the Western region.”

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports