2024 Mountain West Conference football season explained

The 2024 Mountain West Conference football season will be the 26th season of college football for the Mountain West Conference. It is part of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. 12 teams will compete in the conference during the season. The season will begin on August 24, 2024, and conclude with the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game in December 2024. The full season schedule was released on February 29, 2024.^[1]

Conference news

For the 2024 season, the Mountain West Conference signed a scheduling agreement with Oregon State and Washington State - the only remaining members of the Pac-12 Conference. All Mountain West teams will play a game against either Oregon State or Washington State. The games will not count toward conference standings, and neither Pac-12 school is eligible for the Mountain West Conference championship game.^[2]

On July 1, the Mountain West Conference announced a new broadcasting deal with TNT Sports, with several games to be broadcast on TNT's truTV channel as well as their streaming service Max.^[3]

Preseason

Preseason Poll

The Preseason Media Poll was released July 10, 2024. Boise State was selected as the preseason favorite to claim the 2024 Mountain West football regular-season title.^[4]

1	style=	Boise State	543 (38)
2	style=	UNLV	471 (4)
3	style=	Fresno State	460 (4)
4	style=	Air Force	384
5	style=	Colorado State	337
6	style=	Wyoming	296
7	style=	Utah State	285
8	style=	San Diego State	251
9	style=	Hawaii	214
10	style=	San Jose State	185
11	style=	New Mexico	85
12	style=	Nevada	77

Preseason All-Conference team

Mountain West preseason awards and all-conference teams were announced on July 10.^[5]

Awards

Position	Player	Class	Position	Team
Award
Offensive Player of the Year	Ashton Jeanty	Jr.	RB	Boise State
Co-Defensive Player of the Year	Ahmed Hassanein	Sr.	DL	Boise State
Co-Defensive Player of the Year	Jackson Woodard	Sr.	LB	UNLV
Special Teams Player of the Year	Jacob De Jesus	Sr.	KR/PR	UNLV

All-conference team

Position	Player	Class	Team
First Team Offense
QB	Mikey Keene	Jr.	Fresno State
RB	Ashton Jeanty	Jr.	Boise State
	Malik Sherrod	Sr.	Fresno State
WR	Tory Horton	Gr.	Colorado State
	Ricky White III	Sr.	UNLV
	Jalen Royals	Sr.	Utah State
TE	John Michael Gyllenborg	Jr.	Wyoming
OL	Kage Casey	So.	Boise State
	Jacob Gardner	Gr.	Colorado State
	Mose Vavao	Sr.	Fresno State
	Tiger Shanks	Sr.	UNLV
	Jack Walsh	Jr.	Wyoming
First Team Defense
DL	Ahmed Hassanein	Sr.	Boise State
	Devo Bridges	Sr.	Fresno State
	Soane Toia	Sr.	San Jose State
	Jordan Bertagnole	Gr.	Wyoming
LB	Andrew Simpson	Jr.	Boise State
	Chase Wilson	Sr.	Colorado State
	Jordan Pollard	Jr.	San Jose State
	Jackson Woodard	Sr.	UNLV
DB	A’Marion McCoy	Sr.	Boise State
	Jack Howell	Sr.	Colorado State
	Cameron Oliver	Sr.	UNLV
	Ike Larsen	Jr.	Utah State
First Team Special Teams
PK	Jonah Dalmas	Gr.	Boise State
P	James Ferguson-Reynolds	Jr.	Boise State
PR	Jacob De Jesus	Sr.	UNLV
KR	Jacob De Jesus	Sr.	UNLV

Coaches

Coaching changes

• On November 13, 2023, San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke announced that he would retire at the conclusion of the season.^[6] On November 29, the school announced that Sean Lewis would become the head coach for the 2024 season. Lewis had previously been offensive coordinator at Colorado and the head coach of Kent State.^[7]
• On November 25, 2023, New Mexico announced that they had fired head coach Danny Gonzales after four seasons as head coach.^[8] Gonzales had posted a 11–32 record during his time at the school. On December 6, New Mexico announced Bronco Mendenhall as the new head coach for the 2024 season.^[9] Mendenhall had previously been head coach at BYU and Virginia.
• On December 1, 2023, Nevada announced that they had fired head coach Ken Wilson.^[10] Wilson had gone 4–20 in his two seasons with the school. On December 4, Nevada announced Jeff Choate as the new head coach for 2024.^[11] Choate had previously been the co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Texas and the head coach of Montana State.
• On December 6, 2023, Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl announced that we would retire following Wyoming's 2023 bowl game.^[12] Wyoming's defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel was promoted to head coach for 2024.
• On January 16, San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan was announced the new head coach of Arizona of the Big 12 Conference for the 2024 season.^[13] On January 21, San Jose State announced Ken Niumatalolo as the school's new head coach.^[14] Niaumatalolo had previously been head coach at Navy.
• On July 2, Utah State announced their intention to fire Blake Anderson due to non-compliance with Title IX policies regarding the reporting of disclosures of sexual misconduct. Defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling was named the school's interim head coach.^[15]
• On July 15, Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford announced he would step down as head coach due to health concerns. Current assistant head coach and linebackers coach Tim Skipper was announced as the interim head coach for the 2024 season.^[16]

Head coaches

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	MW record
Air Force	Troy Calhoun	18	130–82	130–82	77–54
Boise State	Spencer Danielson	2	3–1	3–1	2–0
Colorado State	Jay Norvell	3	41–42	8–16	29–27
Fresno State	Tim Skipper (interim)	1	0–0	0–0	0–0
Hawaii	Timmy Chang	3	8–18	8–18	5–11
Nevada	Jeff Choate	1	28–22	0–0	0–0
New Mexico	Bronco Mendenhall	1	135–81	0–0	0–0
San Diego State	Sean Lewis	1	24–31	0–0	0–0
San Jose State	Ken Niumatalolo	1	109–83	0–0	0–0
UNLV	Barry Odom	2	34–30	9–5	6–2
Utah State	Nate Dreiling	1	0–0	0–0	0–0
Wyoming	Jay Sawvel	1	0–0	0–0	0–0

Rankings

See also: 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.

	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
Air Force	AP
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
Boise State	AP	RV
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
Colorado State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Fresno State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Hawaii	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Nevada	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
New Mexico	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
San Diego State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
San Jose State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
UNLV	AP
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
Utah State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Wyoming	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released

Legend

		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Schedule

The schedule was released on February 29, 2024.

Index to colors and formatting
MW member won
MW member lost
MW teams in bold

All times Mountain time.

Week 15

Mountain West records vs other conferences

2024–2025 records against non-conference foes:

Power Five Conferences	Record
ACC	0–0
Big Ten	0–0
Big 12	0–0
Pac-12	0–0
Notre Dame	0–0
SEC	0–0
Power 5 Total	0–0
Other FBS Conferences	Record
American	0–0
C-USA	0–0
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)	0–0
MAC	0–0
Sun Belt	0–0
Other FBS Total	0–0
FCS Opponents	Record
Football Championship Subdivision	0–0
Total Non-Conference Record	0–0

Mountain West vs Power 5 matchups

This is a list of games the Mountain West has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
August 24	ACC	SMU	Nevada	Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV
August 31	SEC	Colorado State	Texas	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX
August 31	Big 12	UNLV	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX
August 31	Big Ten	Fresno State	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI
August 31	Big Ten	UCLA	Hawaii	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI
August 31	Big 12	Wyoming	Arizona State	Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, AZ
August 31	Big 12	New Mexico	Arizona	Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ
September 7	Big Ten	Boise State	Oregon	Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR
September 7	Pac-12	Oregon State	San Diego State	Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA
September 7	Big Ten	Utah State	USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA
September 13	Big 12	UNLV	Kansas	Children's Mercy Park • Kansas City, KS
September 14	Big Ten	Nevada	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN
September 14	Big 12	Utah	Utah State	Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT
September 14	Big 12	Colorado	Colorado State	Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO
September 14	SEC	New Mexico	Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL
September 14	Big 12	Air Force	Baylor	McLane Stadium • Waco, TX
September 14	Big 12	BYU	Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY
September 14	ACC	San Diego State	California	California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA
September 20	Pac-12	San Jose State	Washington State	Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
September 28	Pac-12	Washington State	Boise State	Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID
October 4	ACC	Syracuse	UNLV	Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV
October 5	Pac-12	Colorado State	Oregon State	Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR
October 12	Pac-12	Oregon State	Nevada	Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV
October 12	Pac-12	Washington State	Fresno State	Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA
October 19	Pac-12	Hawaii	Washington State	Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
October 19	Pac-12	UNLV	Oregon State	Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR
October 26	Pac-12	Washington State	San Diego State	Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA
November 9	Pac-12	San Jose State	Oregon State	Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR
November 9	Pac-12	Utah State	Washington State	Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
November 16	Pac-12	Oregon State	Air Force	Falcon Stadium • USAF Academy, CO
November 16	Pac-12	Washington State	New Mexico	University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM
November 29	Pac-12	Oregon State	Boise State	Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID
November 29	ACC	Stanford	San Jose State	CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA
November 30	Pac-12	Wyoming	Washington State	Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
November 30	Big Ten	Fresno State	UCLA	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA

Mountain West vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include Mountain West teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC, or Sun Belt.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
August 31	Sun Belt	Boise State	Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA
August 31	Sun Belt	Nevada	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL
September 7	Sun Belt	Georgia Southern	Nevada	Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV
September 14	C-USA	Hawaii	Sam Houston	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX
September 14	C-USA	Kennesaw State	San Jose State	CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA
September 14	C-USA	New Mexico State	Fresno State	Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA
September 21	C-USA	UTEP	Colorado State	Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO
September 21	American	Utah State	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA
September 21	American	Wyoming	North Texas	DATCU Stadium • Denton, TX
September 28	C-USA	New Mexico	New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM
September 28	MAC	San Diego State	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI
October 5	American	Navy	Air Force	Falcon Stadium • USAF Academy, CO
November 2	American	Air Force	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY

Mountain West vs FCS matchups

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
August 24	Montana State	New Mexico	University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM
August 24	Delaware State	Hawaii	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI
August 29	Sacramento State	San Jose State	CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA
August 31	Merrimack	Air Force	Falcon Stadium • USAF Academy, CO
August 31	Texas A&M-Commerce	San Diego State	Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA
August 31	Robert Morris	Utah State	Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT
September 7	Idaho	Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY
September 7	Northern Colorado	Colorado State	Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO
September 7	Utah Tech	UNLV	Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV
September 7	Sacramento State	Fresno State	Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA
September 21	Eastern Washington	Nevada	Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV
September 21	Portland State	Boise State	Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID
September 21	Northern Iowa	Hawaii	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mountain West Announces 2024 Football Schedule. February 29, 2024. July 6, 2024. themw.com. Mountain West Conference.
2. Web site: Mountain West Announces Football Scheduling Agreement With Oregon State and Washington State. December 1, 2023. July 6, 2024. themw.com. Mountain West Conference.
3. Web site: TNT Sports and Mountain West Reach Multi-Year College Football Agreement Beginning This Season. July 1, 2024. July 7, 2024. themw.com. Mountain West Conference.
4. Web site: Boise State Picked to Win 2024 Mountain West Football Title. July 10, 2024. July 10, 2024. themw.com. Mountain West Conference.
5. Web site: 2024 Mountain West Preseason All-Conference Football Team Announced. July 10, 2024. July 11, 2024. themw.com. Mountain West Conference.
6. Web site: San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke to retire after season. Kyle. Bonagura. November 13, 2023. November 13, 2023. espn.com. ESPN.
7. Web site: San Diego State Football Names Sean Lewis Head Coach. November 29, 2023. November 29, 2023. themw.com. Mountain West Conference.
8. Web site: New Mexico fires Danny Gonzales after 4 years as head coach. Pete. Thamel. November 25, 2023. November 25, 2023. espn.com. ESPN.
9. Web site: New Mexico hires Bronco Mendenhall as football coach. December 6, 2023. December 6, 2023. Pete. Thamel. espn.com. ESPN.
10. Web site: Nevada announces change in football leadership . December 1, 2023. nevadawolfpack.com.
11. Web site: Jeff Choate named Nevada Football head coach. December 4, 2023. December 5, 2023. nevadawolfpack.com. Nevada Wolf Pack Athletics.
12. Web site: Wyoming football coach Craig Bohl retiring after bowl game. Adam. Rittenberg. December 6, 2023. December 6, 2023. espn.com. ESPN.
13. Web site: Arizona hires San Jose State's Brent Brennan as head football coach . Reynoldson, Matt. January 17, 2024. kvoa.com. July 7, 2024.
14. News: Londergan. Joe. San José State Officially Announce Ken Niumatalolo As Next Head Football Coach. Sports Illustrated. January 21, 2024. January 21, 2024.
15. News: 2024-07-02 . Sources: Utah St. football coach unlikely to return . 2024-07-02 . . en.
16. Web site: Tedford steps down as head coach, Skipper to serve as interim .