Less than seven months removed from the release of a strategic plan titled “Ascend Together: Our Path To Excellence,” Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez did not mince words as she began her 2024 Media Days press conference.
Mountain West Commissioner Touts Success and Competitiveness at 2024 Football Media Days
“We intend to be a top-five FBS conference,” Nevarez said at Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday for the start of a two-day event that will include press conferences from all 12 head coaches in the conference.
“Our goal is to annually qualify for that automatic qualifier (to the College Football Playoff) as well as to be considered for at-large opportunities.”
Under the new 12-team College Football Playoff format, which will begin this fall, the first five seeds will represent the highest-ranked conference champions, followed by the next seven highest-ranked teams, as determined by the CFP Selection Committee.
“Our non-conference scheduling this season reflects all of these goals,” Commissioner Nevarez continued. “They are vastly more competitive to our peers and we expect this will be noted by the selection committee.”
If you include Pac-12 schools Washington State and Oregon State, the Mountain West Conference will play 35 non-conference games against teams from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, or ACC. That is 12 more than any other league in FBS.
Speaking of the Pac-12 and its dissolution this offseason, Commissioner Nevarez also didn’t sound shy when speaking about the opportunity that now exists for the Mountain West to capitalize on what is an open time slot for scheduling games.
“We really understand and see an opportunity for us to own the western region (of the United States) as an FBS league with being in that time zone as an advantage,” Nevarez said with confidence. “And we’re also very optimistic going forward that when we come to market after 2025 that our unique geography and available TV windows will work in our favor.”
The Mountain West media rights agreement with CBS and Fox runs through 2025-26, meaning it still has two full football seasons left on its current contract.
Nevarez noted the gradual shift in tasks for all collegiate conferences from that of governance and championships to that of generating and maximizing revenue when discussing media rights and sponsorship.
She specifically made mention that the Mountain West is open to exploring “naming rights, patches on jerseys, private equity” and sees the conference as well-positioned to adapt to changes whenever they are made.
“It is incumbent upon us to be in the know, educate ourselves, and really make informed decisions about how to position us forward.”