Surviving the Shift: Mountain West Navigates the NIL Era and Portal Era

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.

The transfer portal, once a backdoor to second chances, has become a revolving door, with teams losing and gaining new players each year.

The reality is no team will look the same each year, so as a fan, you had better enjoy the moment because the following year will be a completely different team in most cases.

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.”

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.

But in recent seasons, they’ve watched standout players leave for bigger NIL opportunities elsewhere.

Boise State, Fresno State, and Utah State have experienced similar heartbreaks—players who dominate on Saturdays in the MWC and then suit up the next year in a Power Five uniform.

The issue isn’t just losing talent. It’s the lack of leverage to keep it. While P5 schools are signing players to six-figure NIL deals, many Mountain West programs are still struggling to organize collectives or legally structure meaningful incentives for athletes.

Juggling Loyalty and Loss: MWC Coaches Face New Reality

For coaches in the Mountain West Conference, the job has never been harder—or more complicated.

The game plan used to be straightforward: recruit, develop, win. Now, it’s recruit, develop… and hope your best players don’t leave.

With NIL money and the transfer portal reshaping the college football landscape, Mountain West coaches are juggling roster instability, shifting loyalties, and constant re-recruiting of their own players.

“We’re not just coaching football anymore,” said one MWC head coach. “We’re managing careers, branding strategies, and weekly transfer rumors.”

Boise State has seen talented underclassmen bolt for SEC and Big Ten schools after breakout seasons.

At San Diego State, defensive standouts are now fielding NIL offers from national powerhouses before bowl season ends.

The new reality? Coaching in the Mountain West means being part strategist, part salesman, and part counselor. And every day, the clock resets.

Creative Solutions and Culture Play

That’s not to say the MWC is giving up by any means, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward, as they say in winner circles.

Some programs are leaning hard into culture, player development, and creative NIL strategies.

Boise State has launched its “HorsePower Collective,” aiming to pool community and alumni resources to fund athlete NIL opportunities.

San Jose State is emphasizing tech-industry partnerships in Silicon Valley to sweeten its NIL pitch.

“We can’t outspend USC or Texas,” said former head coach New Mexico coach Bronco Mendenhall in a recent interview, “but we can create a culture players want to be part of—and use NIL as a life-building tool, not just a paycheck.”

The reality is NCAA College coaches are learning to “Adapt or Die on the Vine” in dealing with young men being promised sizeable sums of money for high-value athletes and balancing old school language of being committed to a program.

In this writer’s opinion, the teams that will adapt the most are those who have a focused plan, resources that they can leverage and a huge component will be community involvement, the ones with a rapid fan base.

Conference Realignment Looms

Realignment continues to destabilize Group of Five (G5) leagues like the Mountain West. With the Pac-12’s collapse and the Big 12’s rapid expansion, MWC teams like San Diego State and Colorado State have flirted with upward mobility, hoping for a seat at the bigger table. Yet no official invitation has come.

In 2023, the MWC entered into a “football-only scheduling alliance” with Oregon State and Washington State—what some see as the first step toward a new hybrid league that could bring in TV revenue and visibility. But long-term stability remains elusive.

What the Future Holds

Looking forward, Mountain West schools are focusing on three key strategies:

1. Institutional NIL Investment: Organizing alumni collectives and securing regional sponsorships to make NIL sustainable and competitive.

2. Retention Through Relationships: Building strong player-coach bonds to minimize portal losses.

3. Media Visibility: Seeking better TV deals, streaming opportunities, and partnerships to increase exposure—essential for both recruiting and funding.

Ultimately, the Mountain West’s future will depend on its ability to embrace innovation, leverage local advantages, and retain identity amid the national arms race.

“We may not win the bidding wars,” said Boise State AD Jeramiah Dickey, “but we can win hearts, minds, and games—if we’re smart about it.”

Whether that optimism holds up in a world increasingly ruled by dollars and deals remains to be seen.

But one thing’s certain: the Mountain West isn’t backing down this is going to be interesting to say the least to see how all the Mountain West Conference teams fair in the next five to ten years.