Mountaintop View 4-19-23. Bracketology, Conference Realignment, Lobo NIL, Football wins, T&F POTW

Even though it’s the “off-season”, there is still a lot going on. Spring practices are occurring, there are updates happening with the transfer portal (basketball and football0, and the NFL draft is looming. Through it all, we have you covered. Take a look at today’s links, plus the content coming your way on our site.

Way too early bracketology.

Because what else are we supposed to do in the off-season? Joe Lunardi put together a 2024 March Madness bracket and has two Mountain West teams in at this time. Boise State is under the last four byes section and is a 10-seed playing Xavier. San Diego State is a four-seed playing Kent State. Obviously, this is very unlikely to play out exactly but consider it a snapshot of where things stand at this moment in time.

Murray discusses conference expansion.

In this week’s edition of his weekly mailbag, Chris Murray ranks all of the MWC teams in terms of how appealing they are to other conferences. He has SDSU and Boise State (in that order) way ahead of everyone else, but the whole list is worth reading. Other topics include: Ken Wilson’s job security, attendance for Nevada’s sports, and MBB transfers, and his thoughts on the transfer portal in general (MBB = good, FB = not good).

Coach Gonzales is excited in April.

The Lobos’ coach is jumping with excitement for what he calls a “new era” in New Mexico football. One of the reasons is a new local NIL collective set to launch in the near future. He is trying to make the money pile up without the benefit of “super-boosters” while also keeping things affordable for fans (for as little as $10 a month). Other reasons include big gains in the weight room for the players, including presumed QB1 Dylan Hopkins. WR Luke Wysong has also added muscle this winter. He also discusses looking to add more transfers, especially on the OL.

Mountain West Projected Football Wins.

T&F Athletes of the Week.

On the horizon:

• Later today: Peak Perspective: Boise State had a gentle fall to rock bottom and has now rebuilt its foundation.
• Later today: Mountain West MBB Recruiting: Top 7 2023 Recruits
• Coming Thursday: Mountain West MBB Recruiting: 2023 Team Recruiting Rankings
• Coming Friday: The MWCConnection Roundtable: Who will be the first Mountain West player drafted this year?
• Coming Friday: Reacts Results