Mountain West Connection
All you need to know about the Mountain West, and then some
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Mountain West/Pac-12 Softball Transfer Portal Tracker 07-11-2026
The 2026 season has come to its conclusion, and with it, the chaos that is the NCAA transfer portal has officially opened. While teams navigate the Mountain West-Pac-12 split, I will be keeping track of who teams lose and gain through the portal window. I was quite busy over the past week, so I was […]
Ranking Nevada’s 2026 Opponents: No. 10 Northern Illinois
When Nevada announced its 2026 schedule, Northern Illinois looked like one of the more intriguing non-conference matchups. A year later, the outlook has changed dramatically. The Huskies enter their first season as a member of the Mountain West following one of the most turbulent offseasons in recent program history. Northern Illinois is coming off a […]
The kicking cure: Guidici returns to steady San Jose State’s special teams
Chapter six of the weekly summer series on the Spartans’ position groups. This week we examine San Jose State’s special teams ahead of the 2026 season. Some numbers you can argue with. This one you can’t. San Jose State made 12 of 23 field goals in 2025. That’s 52 percent in a sport where anything […]
Assessing Pac-12’s new basketball tournament format
The Pac-12 is officially back! After operating with just two programs for the last two seasons, the Pac-12 is back in full swing, introducing seven new members to the league, including five programs — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State — heading into the 2026-27 academic calendar. From a […]
Nevada Football Position Preview: Plenty Of Exciting Question Marks With The Tight End Group
After a lackluster season for Nevada football from the offensive side of the ball, every position will see plenty of change in not only players but also usage. The tight end room is one of those cases. Nevada brings a handful of young returners who didn’t see much action in 2025 but now have the […]
Friday Five: Top 5 Mountain West Linebackers
Welcome to another edition of “Friday Five”. It finally happened, folks. After years of in-fighting and petty behavior, the Mountain West split has actually happened. The “departing five” have left to reform the Pac-12. The Mountain West has added the likes of North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, and UTEP to fill the gaps. We at […]
Mountaintop View 7-10-26: Trent Bray, Boise State’s Move to the PAC 12, UTEP Football, Wyoming Football, Texas State Recruiting
An interesting interview with Oregon State’s former head coach and Washington State’s new defensive coordinator Best Helmets in the Mountain West? Who do you think has the best helmet in the Mountain West? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. A Look at the little intricacies that come with changing a conference […]
Eric Olen Embraces New Era as Lobos Look to Help Define the Mountain West’s Future
Olen Embraces a New Era in the Mountain West A year ago, Eric Olen arrived in Albuquerque with a vision, an empty roster, and the significant challenge of succeeding one of the Mountain West’s most accomplished coaches. Twelve months later, that vision is taking shape. Following a 26-win debut season and an NIT Final Four […]
Boise State’s Top Players: #7
Every year I take a look at who I think will be the top players on Boise State’s football team. With so many unproven players, coming up with this season’s list was a bit tougher than previous years. This team’s squad is definitely more proven on the offensive side of the ball, and that is […]
Settling the Maddux Madsen Debate
Boise State football has had a lot of polarizing athletes on their roster in recent years, but none have been debated as much as their current starting quarterback, Maddux Madsen. Madsen is entering his third year as starting quarterback, and expectations are extremely high for the veteran gunslinger. In his sophomore season, Madsen and the […]
MWCConnection Reacts Survey: Which teams will win 9 or more games in 2026?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mountain West fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Please take our survey
Mountaintop View 7-8-26: Colorado State football recruits, Utah State football season tix and more.
Colorado State football 2027 recruiting class tracker Colorado State’s football additions tracked. Could Albuquerque host the NCAA Tourney again? The NCAA is set to announce the second venue to host the NCAA Tournament first round. Could it be Albuquerque? Utah State basketball has sold out season tickets Habtom Samuel is set to go professional Hawai’i […]
Every PAC-12 Teams’ Projected Win Totals & Most Important Player! Scouting reports, analysis, and key players to watch in 2026! Plus MW Media Days Announcement! HP Ep. #161 OUT NOW!
Welcome back everyone, to the Hike’s Peak Podcast, thank you for coming back to the mountain! As promised, we’re going to spend this week analyzing each PAC-12 team’s projected win totals, along with their most important player for 2026. I’ll let you know what I’m thinking about all eight team’s prospects in the win column, […]
Mountaintop View 7-7-26
UNLV football enters a critical season where winning is the only option Ray Brewer of the Las Vegas Sun paints the picture for the 2026 UNLV Rebels in football, putting out a call to action that now is the time for the Rebels to strike and qualify for the CFP. New Pac-12 Only FBS Conference […]
MWCConnection Recruiting Roundup 7-6-26: North Dakota State, Texas State, Boise State.
It’s another week of the Recruiting Roundup. A quick note: Mountain West Team Rankings (+ the first round of tiered rankings) will go next week. It makes sense for July to line it up with Mountain West Media Days, as next week will be very MW-heavy in terms of content. For this week, we are […]
Mountaintop View 7-6-26. All-Pac Team, Nevada Preview, Stadium Capacities, Neemias Queta, Nathan Pine fired.
It’s Monday, and we are one week away from Mountain West Media Days! That being said, football preview posts are ramping up. As always, our coverage is still going strong. Check out our original coverage and what we can find from the World Wide Web below. Athlon All-Pac-12 Team Athlon continues their conference rankings and […]
Ranking Nevada Football’s 2026 Opponents: No. 11 UTEP
At No. 11 in Nevada’s opponent countdown sits a familiar future conference foe. UTEP enters 2026 with optimism, but also plenty of uncertainty. The Miners officially begin their first season in the Mountain West after spending the past 21 years in Conference USA. While conference realignment has created a fresh start for the program, the […]
MWCConnection Reacts Results: Mountain West/Pac-12 Bowl Teams.
This post is brought to you by FanDuel, proud partner of SBNation. Lots of bowling out West? Apologies, as we were limited to one question this week; otherwise, we would have asked about the Mountain West and Pac-12 separately. That being said, 47% of voters in this poll think there will be ten teams going to […]
Nevada Football Position Preview: Can Nevada’s Offensive Line Become the Foundation of a Bowl Run?
If Nevada is going to take the next step in 2026, it will come down to whether the offensive line can continue the progress it made a season ago. While the Wolf Pack finished just 3-9 in 2025, the offensive line quietly became one of the most improved position groups on the roster. Nevada allowed […]
Friday Five: Top 5 Pac-12 Defensive Ends
Welcome to another edition of “Friday Five”. It finally happened, folks. After years of in-fighting and petty behavior, the Mountain West split has actually happened. The “departing five” have left to reform the Pac-12. The Mountain West has added the likes of North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, and UTEP to fill the gaps. We at […]
Which Mountain West Teams Should, Could and Probably Won’t Compete in a Bowl Game in 2026?
The new athletic year has arrived, and with that the new-look Mountain West will look to rebuild its image back to what it was for the last couple of years, starting with football in the fall. Every school has expectations and goals both internally and externally it will strive to hit. One of those is […]
Habtom Samuel and Pamela Kosgei are the 2025-26 Mountain West Male and Female Athletes of the Year
For years, the University of New Mexico has established itself as one of the nation’s premier distance-running programs. Now, the Lobos have achieved something no other school in Mountain West history has accomplished. Habtom Samuel and Pamela Kosgei were named the 2025-26 Mountain West Male and Female Athletes of the Year, making New Mexico the […]
Northern Illinois dives into the MW with a new coach, a load of questions & a lot to prove
Northern Illinois football has been punching above its weight for a long time and DeKalb, Illinois is not exactly a city that makes national recruiting coordinators reach for their coffee and start dialing. But all said, the Huskies have carved out a legitimate legacy in Group of Six football over the past two decades: five […]
Mountaintop View 7-2-26
The new Pac-12 Conference officially launches with the addition of seven full-time members Easiest Mountaintop View ever. July 1st was the beginning of a new era for western college athletics. The Pac-12 has risen from the ashes, adding several departing Mountain West programs. The Pac-12 announced their basketball tournament format in the news. Hawai‘i Officially […]
Mountain West/Pac-12 Softball Transfer Portal Tracker 07-01-2026
The 2026 season has come to its conclusion, and with it, the chaos that is the NCAA transfer portal has officially opened. While teams navigate the Mountain West-Pac-12 split, I will be keeping track of who teams lose and gain through the portal window. There have been some moves made over the past few days, […]