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Mountain West School History
The Mountain West Conference is among the country's most storied and successful college athletic conferences. Founded in 1999, it has grown to include 11 schools: Air Force Academy, Boise State University, Colorado State University, Fresno State University, San Diego State University, UNLV (University of Nevada-Las Vegas), Utah Valley University (formerly known as BYU-Utah), Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls; New Mexico Lobos; and TCU Horned Frogs. Each school brings a unique history that dates back hundreds of years.
Air Force Academy was established in 1954 by President Dwight D Eisenhower as an institution dedicated to educating future military officers for service within the United States Armed Forces. Since then, its teams have won numerous national championships, including two football titles since joining the conference in the 2006 – 2007 season. They defeated Houston 34 - 28 for their first title win under head coach Fisher DeBerry, who coached at AFA from 1984 -2006. The Falcons also boast five NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament appearances since joining MWC and three National Invitational Tournament victories during this period!
Boise State University joined MWC after moving up from Div II status before the 2001 season, where they began to play against fellow members such as Utah Utes & Wyoming Cowboys on what would be called “the blue turf” due to its signature blue color, which still stands today! During their tenure, BSU has seen success both on the field & off, winning six conference titles across multiple sports while appearing four times each at NCAA basketball tournament & bowl games, respectively, over the past decade-plus!
Colorado State University is another charter member dating back to 1999 when MWC formed, being the only one not located on the West Coast but east near the Rocky Mountains region itself, hence the name given the Rams, the short form for the CSU acronym used commonly around the campus area too! They have had some great successes, especially the men's basketball program reaching the Sweet Sixteen round twice in the last ten years, finishing ranked top 25 nationally once each year between the 2011–2015 seasons, making them formidable opponents any team faces throughout the regular or postseasons alike!!
Fresno State University joined MWC shortly after Boise St did in 2005, becoming the fifth original member to join the fold. However, unlike other programs mentioned before, FSU didn't quite find the same level of success until recently, thanks mainly to former NBA star Jerry Tarkanian taking the helm coaching duties in 2008 and leading Bulldogs to three consecutive postseason berths in 2010, 2012, 2014, helping put Fresno firmly map again, even if.
