The 2026 Mountain West Conference football season is the 28th season of college football play for the Mountain West Conference. It is part of the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. 10 teams compete in the conference during the season. The season began on August 29, 2026, and will conclude with the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game on December 4, 2026. The full season schedule was released on March 9, 2026.
Conference realignment This season starts a new era for the Mountain West. After the 2025 season, marquee schools Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State all departed to the Pac-12 Conference. At the same time, the conference welcomed new members to fill their spots. Two new full members joined the conference, one being Hawaii which was already a football-only member, and the other being UTEP. UTEP came to the conference from Conference USA, and Hawaii left its former full-time home of the Western Athletic Conference. Additionally, the conference added two football-only members. Northern Illinois moved its program over from its longtime home of the Mid-American Conference, while the bulk of its athletic program moved to the Horizon League. North Dakota State joined the conference from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Bison played in the FCS since they started their Division I transition in 2004, and they played in the MVFC since 2008. North Dakota State was initially going to be ineligible for any postseason play due to the NCAA-mandated two-year transition period, however on June 24, 2026 the NCAA Division I cabinet enacted a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision subcommittee to allow all current and future programs reclassifying to FBS to be immediately eligible for all postseason events, such as bowl games, the Mountain West championship game, and the College Football Playoff.
Coaches Coaching changes On February 18, 2026, Thomas Hammock announced his resignation as head coach of the Huskies. Northern Illinois promoted defensive coordinator Rob Harley to interim head coach the same day.
Head coaches Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school MW recordAir Force Troy Calhoun 20 139–97 139–97 83–63Hawaii Timmy Chang 5 22–29 22–29 13–18Nevada Jeff Choate 3 34–41 6–19 2–13New Mexico Jason Eck 2 35–17 9–4 6–2North Dakota State Tim Polasek 3 26–3 26–3 0–0Northern Illinois Rob Harley 1 0–0 0–0 0–0San Jose State Ken Niumatalolo 3 119–98 10–15 5–10UNLV Dan Mullen 2 113–65 10–4 6–2UTEP Scotty Walden 3 5–19 5–19 0–0Wyoming Jay Sawvel 3 7–17 7–17 4–11 Records are current from the end of the 2025 season
Preseason The Mountain West decided to not compose a preseason media/coaches poll due to ongoing realignment and player movement.
Preseason All-Conference awards Mountain West preseason awards and all-conference teams were announced on July 15, 2026.
Awards AwardPlayerClassPositionTeamOffensive Player of the YearMicah AlejadoSo.QBHawai'iDefensive Player of the YearJaxton EckSr.LBNew MexicoSpecial Teams Player of the YearJackson WilliamsJr.PR/KRNorth Dakota State
All-conference team PositionPlayerClassTeamOffenseQBMicah AlejadoSo.Hawai'iWRPofele AshlockSr.Troy OmeireSr.New MexicoTaeshaun LyonsJr.UNLVRBOwen AllenSr.Air ForceJai'Den ThomasSr.UNLVOLJack FosterSr.NevadaMalik AlianeSr.New MexicoGriffin EmpeyJr.North Dakota StateAustin BoydSr.UNLVRex JohnsenSr.WyomingTECade KeithSo.New MexicoDefenseDLDylan LaBarberaSr.NevadaBrian BookerSr.New MexicoKeenan WilsonJr.North Dakota StateLucas ContiJr.UNLVLBBlake FletcherSr.Air ForceJamih OtisSr.Hawai'iJaxton EckSr.New MexicoEthan StuhlsatzGr.WyomingDBElijah PalmerSr.Hawai'iAiden WalkerSo.NevadaDarius GivanceSr.North Dakota StateJake PopeSr.UNLVSpecial TeamsPBart EdmistonSr.WyomingPKJoe McFaddenGr.NevadaPRJackson WilliamsJr.North Dakota StateKR
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Final Air Force AP — — — — — C — — — — — CFP Not released Hawaii AP — — — — — C RV — — — — CFP Not released Nevada AP — — — — — C — — — — — CFP Not released New Mexico AP RV — — — — C RV RV RV — — CFP Not released North Dakota State AP — — RV RV RV C — RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Northern Illinois AP — — — — — C — — — — — CFP Not released San Jose State AP — — — — — C — — — — — CFP Not released UNLV AP RV — — — — C RV RV — — — CFP Not released UTEP 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 March 9, 2026.
Index to colors and formattingMW member wonMW member lostMW teams in bold All times Mountain time.
Week 0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Date Bye Week September 19 Air Force Hawaii UNLV
Week 4
Date Bye Week September 26 North Dakota State San Jose State
Week 5
Date Bye Week October 3 Nevada Northern Illinois
Week 6
Date Bye Week October 10 New Mexico
Week 7
Week 8
Date Bye Week October 24 UNLV UTEP
Week 9
Date Bye Week October 31 Hawaii Wyoming
Week 10
Date Bye Week November 7 North Dakota State
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
North Dakota State and San Jose State will play as non-conference opponents
Mountain West records vs. other conferences 2026–27 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season Power Four ConferencesRecordACC1–1Big 120–1Big Ten0–3Notre Dame0–0SEC0–2Power 4 Total1–7Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican1–2CUSA4–1Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)0–0MAC4–1Pac-120–3Sun Belt1–0Other FBS Total 9–8FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision6–2Total Non-Conference Record 16–17
Mountain West vs Power 4 matchups This is a list of games the Mountain West has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 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 29 ACC Hawaii Stanford Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA L 27–37 August 29 Big Ten San Jose State No. 14t USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 26–42 September 4 SEC UTEP No. 10 Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK L 0–51 September 5 Big Ten Northern Illinois No. 22 Iowa Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA L 0–40 September 19 SEC New Mexico Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK L 6–14 September 19 Big 12 Northern Illinois Arizona Casino Del Sol Stadium • Tucson, AZ L 17–42 September 19 Big Ten UTEP Michigan Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI L 17–52 October 3 ACC California UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV W 39–31 October 10 Big 12 Hawaii Arizona State Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, AZ October 31 Big Ten Nevada UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA
Mountain West vs. other FBS matchups The following games include Mountain West teams competing against teams from the American, CUSA, MAC, Pac-12 or Sun Belt.
Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score August 29 C-USA Jacksonville State North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND W 33–7 August 29 American Memphis UNLV Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV L 21–27 September 4 MAC San Jose State Eastern Michigan Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI W 27–21 September 5 C-USA Western Kentucky Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV W 49–14 September 5 MAC Central Michigan New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM W 38–7 September 5 Pac-12 Wyoming Colorado State Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO L 13–35 September 12 C-USA New Mexico State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI W 29–19 September 12 American UNLV North Texas DATCU Stadium • Denton, TX L 6–44 September 19 C-USA Nevada Middle Tennessee State Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN L 20–27 September 19 MAC North Dakota State Sacramento State Hornet Stadium • Sacramento, CA W 31–10 September 19 Pac-12 Fresno State San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA L 10–26 September 19 MAC Wyoming Central Michigan Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI L 10–24 September 26 C-USA New Mexico New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM W 42–18 September 26 MAC UNLV Akron InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH W 38–10 September 26 Sun Belt Northern Illinois Georgia State Center Parc • Atlanta, GA L 14–35 September 26 Pac-12 Oregon State UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX L 7–33 October 3 American Navy Air Force Falcon Stadium • USAF Academy, CO W 14–9 November 7 American Air Force Army Michie Stadium • West Point, NY November 28 MAC Sacramento State Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI
Mountain West vs FBS independents The following games include Mountain West teams competing against FBS Independents, which only includes UConn for 2026.
Date Visitor Home Site Score October 31 UConn Air Force Falcon Stadium • USAF Academy, CO November 28 UConn Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY
Mountain West vs FCS matchups The following games include Mountain West teams competing against FCS schools.
Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score September 5 Northeast Duquesne Air Force Falcon Stadium • USAF Academy, CO W 34–0 September 5 Patriot Fordham North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND W 38–0 September 12 Big Sky Montana State Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV L 7–20 September 12 Northeast Mercyhurst New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM W 70–7 September 12 MVFC Illinois State Northern Illinois Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL L 24–28 September 12 Big Sky Cal Poly San Jose State CEFCU Stadium • San Jose, CA W 30–20 September 12 SWAC Texas Southern UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX W 51–10 September 12 Big Sky Northern Colorado Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY W 21–13
Awards and honors
Player of the week honors
Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams Freshman Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position Week 0 Nathan Hayes North Dakota State QB Donovan Woolen North Dakota State LB Drew Klein North Dakota State PK Blake Schiltz North Dakota State DE Week 1 Dominic Kelley Nevada RB Tre Fulton UNLV S Trajan Sinatra San Jose State PK Kal-El Togafau UNLV DE Week 2 Nathan Hayes (2) North Dakota State QB Jamih Otis Hawaii LB Drew Klein (2) North Dakota State PK Myles Mitchell North Dakota State RB Week 3 Jackson Williams North Dakota State WR Darius Givance North Dakota State S Grant Glasgow New Mexico PK Gavin Sell North Dakota State LB Week 4 Liam Szarka Air Force QB Cam Santee UNLV LB Joe McFadden Nevada PK Toa Fa'Avae New Mexico QB Week 5 Jackson Arnold UNLV QB Donovan Woolen (2) North Dakota State LB Austin Brawley New Mexico S Toa Fa'Avae (2) New Mexico QB
Home attendance TeamStadiumCapacityGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7Total Average% of capacityAir ForceFalcon Stadium39,44126,70325,97030,441†83,11427,70470.2%HawaiiClarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex15,19415,014†12,90513,36641,28513,76190.6%NevadaMackay Stadium27,00019,40421,679†20,67361,75620,58576.2%New MexicoUniversity Stadium39,22424,12623,87420,67328,256†96,92924,23261.8%North Dakota StateFargodome18,70018,53715,21218,586†52,33517,44593.3%Northern IllinoisHuskie Stadium28,21117,58217,58262.3%San Jose StateCEFCU Stadium18,20315,01718,256†33,27316,63691.4%UNLVAllegiant Stadium65,00031,384†30,63262,01631,00847.7%UTEPSun Bowl45,97124,580†15,09936,67919,83939.9%WyomingWar Memorial Stadium29,81124,105†20,99945,10422,55275.6% Bold - Exceed or met capacity †Season High
References