Mountain West Football: Five reasons to be excited for 2026 season

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Hello again, fans of forgotten western football. June is almost here, meaning players will be reporting for summer workouts soon in the ramp up to football season. The Mountain West is set to split this summer with the “departing five” leaving to create the reformed Pac-12. The Mountain West has added the likes of North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, and UTEP to fill the gaps. 

We at the Mountain West Connection intend to cover both conferences going forward. “Friday Five” will feature the five best of, well, anything leading into football season, alternating between each conference week-to-week. Best quarterbacks, stadiums, mascots, who knows. We’re open to your ideas! This week, we start off with Friday Five reasons to be excited for 2026 MWC Football.

5. New era, new faces

The departing five Mountain West schools bound for the reformed Pac-12 left a void to be filled and the Mountain West Conference needed to move fast. The replacements? UTEP and Northern Illinois were the initial additions. The Miners have history with the remaining MWC programs, having featured in the old WAC years ago. Northern Illinois leaving the MAC was a bit of a surprise and showed the MWC is not afraid to expand past its borders. Months later, the real shock arrived: North Dakota State’s long speculated step up finally happened in a bold move by the conference. A conference that spans from Manoa to Fargo, unbelievable. New faces, new energy, plenty of reason to be excited. 

4. Is it finally UNLV’s time to shine?

Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State account for nearly every single Mountain West football championship dating back to 2012. They were challenged along the way but not dethroned. UNLV in particular has to be pulling their hair out, having burst onto the scene in 2023 by qualifying for the Mountain West championship. The frustration? The Boise State Broncos beat the Rebels five times in a three-year span (you read that correctly), beating the Rebels in three-straight conference championship games. Almost none of them were close. Now that the big bad Broncos have moved on, is UNLV ready to run this show? They have to be a little happy the runway is clearer than before. Can they meet expectations?

3. Hawaii’s run-and-shooting Warriors

Speaking of Mountain West teams being bullish that they will fill the void, Timmy Chang and his Hawaii Rainbow Warriors return for more in 2026 and remain largely intact. That is hard to do in this transfer portal era, but quarterback Micah Alejado returns to Manoa along with an experienced coaching staff. Hawaii featured a tantalizing schedule, playing the likes of Stanford and Arizona State on the road before dealing with conference play. With receivers like Pofele Ashlock back, Hawaii should have one of the most exciting offenses in college football. Can the Warriors rise to meet expectations? They’ll host New Mexico, UNLV, and North Dakota State this fall.

2. Is there a new sheriff in town?

The Mountain West grabbed headlines back in the winter when the conference invited North Dakota State, the long-time dominant FCS powerhouse. The reasoning was obvious, Fargo doesn’t offer a market, it offers a top-notch football program. The MWC needs some beefing up and this helps the cause. Is history repeating itself? I remember when the old WAC split up and the likes of Fresno State thought hey, now is our time! Only for some FCS level-riser from Idaho to steal the spotlight. Is there a new sheriff in town? Will North Dakota State instantly supplant the Rebels, Lobos, Warriors, etc.? The Bison have the highest preseason win total over/under, for what it is worth. The addition of the Bison sets the stage for some exciting matchups and possibilities. 

1. Jason Eck and the Lobos are back

One of the best stories of the 2025 college football season was the New Mexico Lobos. Jason Eck arrived from Moscow, Idaho and instantly brought a new edge to Albuquerque. A convincing win at the Rose Bowl established a new era, and the Lobos nearly qualified for the conference championship game. Eck was not plucked away by another job this off-season and the Lobos are set to run it back this fall. Is it too much to dream for a shocking upset in Norman, Oklahoma? Probably, but I think the Lobos have a real chance to be the face of the Mountain West this fall and be a factor in the Group of 6 College Football Playoff bid. 

Others in consideration: Hope, in general? As I noted above, aside from San Jose State’s conference championship in 2020 (during the forsaken COVID season), ALL of the Mountain West football championships dating back to the formation of the most recent edition of the league in 2012 are now off to the Pac-12. It’s not like UNLV, New Mexico, Hawaii, etc. have the trophy cases to thump their chests. Why can’t Wyoming, Air Force, UTEP, etc. dream a little? This league could be wide open. 

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