A positive gain for Mountain West
member) from $1.1 million to $4 million.
“The new deals will provide the Conference with greater exposure and significantly increased revenue, but most importantly strategically position us for the next negotiation,” MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said.
The Mountain West’s geographic footprint extends from the Rocky Mountains to the West Coast and includes Boise State, Air Force, Utah State, Wyoming, Colorado State, New Mexico, Hawaii, San Diego State, Nevada, San Jose State, Fresno State and UNLV.
The MWC is the latest non-autonomous conference to strike a new media rights deal that increases revenue for its schools.
The AAC reached a 12-year agreement with ESPN last May that is reportedly worth $1 billion and begins in 2020. The agreement is slated to pay the league $83.3 million per year, with each school receiving nearly $7 million per year.
The AAC has worked to rebrand itself as part of the Power 6, hoping to prove it should be included in the five autonomous conferences — the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12.
The Power Five leagues make a lot more money, with the Big Ten leading the way with $759 million of revenue in 2018-19, according to the latest tax records.
The AAC is also banking on the ability to provide additional content to its fanbase through ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN+.
The MWC and AAC lead the Group of Five conferences when it comes to media-rights revenue generated ahead of Conference USA, Mid-American Conference and the Sun Belt.
C-USA reworked a new media-rights agreement with CBS in 2018, which reportedly doubled the league’s annual payout per school from $200,000 to $400,000.
The MAC is currently in the middle of a 13-year deal that pays the league $10 million annually to be split among its 12 members. In order to secure its average of about $833,000 per school, the MAC agrees to regularly play games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The Sun Belt reached a deal in 2018 and reportedly pays each school around $125,000 a year.
These new media-rights deals don’t include College Football Playoff revenue.
The AAC is expected to receive $4 million for having Memphis qualify as the highest-ranked Group of Five team, earning a spot in the New Year’s Six Access Bowl game.
The league will also split a $90 million collective pool with the other non-autonomous conferences, which is reportedly divided using a formula based on performance.
Four of the past six New Year’s Six Access Bowl spots have gone to AAC teams, with the other two going to the MWC and the MAC.