Surviving the Shift: Mountain West Navigates the NIL Era and Portal Power Struggle
By Roger Holien
As college football barrels into a new era dominated by big-money NIL deals, free-flowing transfer activity, and a rapidly widening gap between Power Five (P5) programs and the rest, the Mountain West Conference (MWC) finds itself at a crossroads.
Once seen as a feisty mid-major with dark horse potential, the MWC now faces a stark reality: adapting to the unfamiliar landscape, or risk becoming irrelevant.
The New Playing Field
In the wake of the NCAA’s policy shift in 2021 allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness, P5 programs have surged ahead, capitalizing on deep-pocketed donors, organized collectives, and brand-name exposure to lure top talent.
Once a backdoor to second chances, the transfer portal has become a revolving door, with teams losing and gaining new players each year.
The reality is that no team will look the same each year, so as a fan, you had better enjoy the moment because, in most cases, the following year will be a completely different team.
It’s the reality of this day and age of NCAA college sports, and for the average fan, they disdain it for the most part.
For Mountain West schools, that means building a program only to watch its best players leave for bigger stages.
“Recruit. Develop. Lose. Repeat,” lamented one MWC assistant coach anonymously. “We’re basically a farm system for the SEC and Big Ten.”
This is one of the reasons, in this writer’s opinion, that you see old-school coaches are either retiring or getting into media roles to cover the game they enjoy the game so much.
The Talent Drain
Take San Diego State, for example. The Aztecs have long been a model for consistent development, particularly on defense and special teams in…
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Publish date : 2025-05-05 21:01:00
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