May 20, 2022
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Mountain West announced Friday that beginning with the 2023 season, the league will eliminate its two-division format. The two teams with the highest Conference winning percentage will compete in the championship game.
The enhanced structure will ensure the top two teams meet in the championship game and put the Mountain West in the best position for a place in the College Football Playoff.
A scheduling model and tiebreaking procedures for future seasons are being finalized and will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Our membership has been working on concepts since last summer, as part of our strategic planning for the future of the Mountain West,” said MW Commissioner Craig Thompson. “A single-division approach provides maximum flexibility to adapt the Conference schedule as the landscape continues to evolve, while also allowing member institutions to play each other more frequently.”
The MW will continue with its existing Mountain and West Divisions in the fall of 2022, with the two divisional champions meeting in the MW Football Championship Game on Saturday, December 3.
On May 18, at the recommendation of its Football Oversight Committee, the NCAA Division I Council adopted legislation to remove the Football Bowl Subdivision requirements that must be met to annually exempt one conference championship contest. This change will provide discretion to each FBS conference to determine the method for identifying the participants in its conference championship game.
COURTESY MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
