MWCConnection Summer Series: Mountain West Armchair Commissioner

As you know, the summer can often be devoid of content, especially in May, June, and the first half of July until Media Days. For the past few years, we have tried to do a weekly summer series to mitigate some of that. In 2021, it was the Outside Look series, and last year we learned more about our team in the Why I Write Series. This year, I came up with an idea I’m calling Interim Commissioner.

Basically, each writer is put in charge of the conference and gets to write about decisions they would make on a number of important topics that a commissioner would face running the Mountain West. I am basing this idea on a blog site I enjoy and something they do every offseason called the Sox Machine Offseason Plan Project.

Note: None of us are trying to replace new Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez, nor should this exercise be seen as a critique of her in any way.

Instead, this is a practice to hear some thoughts on the big issues that the conference faces in the near or long-term future. Not only will you get to read thoughts from different staff writers each week, but all of you will have the opportunity to join in on the fun by contributing too in the fan post section of the site.

How to participate:

It’s pretty straightforward. Copy and paste the questions below and write your answers. A different writer will post one every Thursday from June through August, but readers can put them in the fan posts, and I’ll feature them on the main site as well.

Questions

What is your opening address about the state of the conference at media days?

What are some innovative ways you would attempt to increase revenue for the conference?

What Olympic sports would you want to prioritize/build up?

What two committees would you join and why (pick from the list below)?

• Transformation committee
• Committee on Academics
• Student-Athelte Advisory Committee
• Committee on Infractions
• Oversight Committee
• Strategic Vision and Planning Committee
• Student Athlete Experience Comittee

Protected Games for each football team: What games would you protect for every team when the new football schedule comes out for the 2026 season? (Current protected games for reference)

Conference Realignment: Assuming the Mountain West will eventually need to expand, who are the top two teams you would choose as replacements? Share a few sentences on why, citing the level of competition, geographical factors, if they join as full members, and how they would factor into the revenue sharing (bad example: Alabama and Notre Dame will join in 2025).

Bowl Tie-Ins: What are some realistic bowl tie-ins you would attempt to negotiate for the conference (bad example: Sugar Bowl vs. SEC Champ)?

Media Deal: What would be your realistic plan for the next media rights deal? Consider dollar amount, total years, team distribution, specific networks, game tv slots, linear tv vs. streaming (bad example the MWC will get 1 billion dollars over 10 years and will get Saturday primetime on ESPN every Saturday)

Three of the biggest issues appear to be conference realignment, bowl tie-ins, and money from a media deal. Which of the three would you make your number one priority? Why are you choosing that one and provide more detail to how you would address it?

What’s another thing not listed here that the conference could do off the field to enhance its product on the field?

Our first post will go live on June 1st