The Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of the Mountain West Conference (MW).
History
Locations of Mountain West Conference members.
From 1999 to 2012, the champion of the Mountain West was determined by regular season record. Beginning in 2013, following the expansion to twelve members and the division of the conference into Mountain and West Divisions, the conference championship game was held between the two division winners. The Mountain West is one of four conferences to have its championship game at a campus site, along with the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, and the Sun Belt Conference.
The most recent 2022 championship game was the last to feature division winners. On May 20, 2022, the MW announced that it would eliminate its football divisions effective with the 2023 season, instead sending the top two teams in the conference standings to the title game.[1] Two days earlier, the NCAA Division I Council had approved a rule change that gave all FBS conferences full freedom to determine the participants in their football championship games.[2]
The inaugural MW Championship Game was played on December 7, 2013, at Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium and televised by CBS.[3]
The Mountain West Conference champion customarily receives a berth to play in the Las Vegas Bowl. However, if the MW champion finishes ranked ahead of the champions from the other "Group of Five" mid-major conferences (American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, MAC, and Sun Belt) by the selection committee of the College Football Playoff, it is guaranteed a berth in one of the non-semifinal "New Year's Six" bowls. If the conference champion is the highest ranked among group of 5 conference champions, the conference champion will play in the national championship playoff.
Mountain West Conference Championship Game (2013–present)
Below are the results from all Mountain West Conference Football Championship Games played. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of their primary team color. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.
UTEP will be joining the Mountain West starting with the 2026 season and will be eligible for the Mountain West Championship.
Selection criteria
The Tiebreaking procedures for both selection for the Championship game and determination of the host for the 2023 Season are as follows.[6]
Two-team tiebreaker procedure
Head-to-head record between the tied teams
Highest College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee Ranking (or composite of selected computer rankings). If one or both teams are ranked in the Nov 21, 2023 CFP Rankings and win in the final weekend of regular season play, the CFP Rankings will serve at the tiebreaker. If no team is both ranked in the Nov 21 CFP rankings and wins in the final weekend then, "a composite average of selected computer rankings" will serve as the tiebreaker.
Overall winning percentage against all opponents. (max one FCS win will be counted)
Record against the next highest-placed team in the Conference Standings
Winning percentage against common conference opponents.
Coin toss
Three or more-team tiebreaker procedure
This procedure is used until two teams remain tied, then the two-team tiebreaker procedures will be used.
Head-to-head winning percentage among the tied teams. If within the mini round-robin of tied teams, any of the tied teams did not play each other, the group of teams shall remain tied, unless one team defeated all other tied teams.
Highest College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee Ranking (or composite of selected computer rankings). If one or both teams are ranked in the Nov 21, 2023 CFP Rankings and win in the final weekend of regular season play, the CFP Rankings will serve at the tiebreaker. If no team is both ranked in the Nov 21 CFP rankings and wins in the final weekend then, "a composite average of selected computer rankings" will serve as the tiebreaker.
Overall winning percentage against all opponents. (max one FCS win will be counted)
Record against the next highest-placed team in the Conference Standings
Winning percentage against common conference opponents.
Drawing to be conducted virtually by the commissioner to determine the two teams.
Once the tie is reduced to two teams, then the two-team tiebreaker is used.
Host determination
Current procedure
The team with the best conference record hosts the championship game. The tiebreaker procedure for determining which teams are selected for the championship game also serves as the tiebreaking procedure for determining who is the host.
2018–2022 procedure
The team with the best conference record hosts the championship game. Before 2023, the division champion with the better conference record hosted the game. If the teams have the same record, the following tie-breaking procedure is used:[7]
Head-to-head record
Higher College Football Playoff ranking going into the final week of regular season, excluding teams who are not ranked and/or that lost their final regular season game
Composite of selected computer rankings
Record versus common conference opponents
Highest overall winning percentage (conference and non-conference excluding exempt games)
Coin toss
2013–2017 procedure
From 2013 to 2017, the division champion with the higher College Football Playoff ranking going into the final week of regular season was designated as the host school unless it lost its final regular season game. If the latter occurred, or neither team was ranked in the latest available College Football Playoff rankings, then the following procedure was used:[8]
Winning percentage against the next-highest placed common conference opponent and proceeding through the conference, with placing based on:
Placement within the division
Overall conference record
Composite of selected computer rankings
Coin toss
This procedure was discontinued after the 2017 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game after Boise State was selected to host the game despite having the same conference record as their opponent Fresno State and losing to Fresno State during the regular season.
Game records
Team
Record, Team vs. Opponent
Year
Most points scored (one team)
46, Utah State vs. San Diego State
2021
Most points scored (losing team)
24, Air Force vs. San Diego State Wyoming vs. San Diego State
2015 2016
Fewest points scored (winning team)
17, Boise State vs. Fresno State
2017
Fewest points scored
7, UNLV vs. Boise State
2024
Most points scored (both teams)
64, Boise State (44) vs. UNLV (20)
2023
Fewest points scored (both teams)
28, Boise State (21) vs. UNLV (7)
2024
Most points scored in a half
32, Utah State (2nd half) vs. San Diego State
2021
Most points scored in a half (both teams)
48, Boise State vs. UNLV (1st half)
2023
Largest margin of victory
33, Utah State (46) vs. San Diego State (13)
2021
Smallest margin of victory
3, San Diego State (27) vs. Air Force (24) San Diego State (27) vs. Wyoming (24) Boise State (17) vs. Fresno State (14) Fresno State (19) vs. Boise State (16)
2015 2016 2017 2018
Total yards
527, Boise State (226 passing, 301 rushing) vs. UNLV
2023
Rushing yards
305, Air Force vs. San Diego State
2015
Passing yards
453, San Jose State vs. Boise State
2020
First downs
26, San Jose State vs. Boise State
2020
Fewest yards allowed
258, San Jose State vs. Boise State (221 passing, 37 rushing)
