MWC ON HOLD
Mountain West Conference delays fall sports — football season to start Sept. 26
The brakes officially have been applied.
After weeks of speculation and months of unknowns regarding the college sports season, the Mountain West Conference Board of Directors voted Wednesday to adjust the structure for football and other fall sports, making the MWC the first of the Group of Five leagues to alter is approach amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It came on the same day the NCAA announced that the Division II and Division III fall sports championships, including all football, had been canceled. That has a direct impact on all three of the state’s D II schools, New Mexico Highlands, Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico.
The MWC ruled that competition for all fall sports can start no earlier than the week of Sept. 26, meaning a one-month delay to the start of football. Teams will play an eight-game conference schedule and have an option of playing two nonconference games.
The date of the MWC football championship game will be played between Dec. 5 and 19, depending on any unforeseen delays in the regular season.
“This framework allows us time to ensure we have the best possible health and safety protocols in place to allow our student-athletes a safe environment to compete,” said University of New Mexico athletic director Eddie Nuñez in a prepared statement. “We will continue to work with local authorities and the governor’s office to stay within the guidelines put in place to keep the community safe. The safety of our student-athletes and our community is our top priority.”
The NCAA ruled Wednesday that any student-athlete who chooses to opt out of playing this fall will have their respective school honor their scholarship. As of this week, UNM reported none of its athletes had opted out.
UNM originally had its football opener set for Aug. 29 against Idaho State, followed by road games at Mississippi State, USC and New Mexico State through the first three weeks of September. The Mississippi State and USC games have been canceled, and with UNM assured of an eight-game MWC schedule, it now must choose which of the two nonconference opponents to keep.
According to the Las Cruces SunNews on Wednesday, New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia said he felt “very confident” the annual Lobos-Aggies game would still be played. As an FBS independent, NMSU is one of just seven teams not affiliated with a football conference. One of the others is UConn, which announced Wednesday it had canceled its 2020 football season.
Nuñez did not return a message seeking comment. The Lobos and Aggies were scheduled to play Sept. 19 in Las Cruces.
As of Wednesday, New Mexico State had nine games remaining on what had been a 12-game schedule. UNM originally had a 13-game slate with nonconference games against the aforementioned teams and a home date with Massachusetts on Oct. 3.
The Lobos’ remaining eight MWC games were to start Oct. 5, but there was no indication in Wednesday’s announcement of how each team’s eight-game slate would be laid out. The league said a revised schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
“The health and welfare of our student-athletes and campus communities continue to be paramount in our decision-making process,” said MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson. “The modified fall structure as presently configured allows flexibility and time for our athletic programs to be in the best possible position to play collegiate sports this season. There is still a lot of work to be done and many important decisions to be made.”
Competition in other fall sports will be conference-only. Women’s soccer and volleyball champions will be determined by regular-season competition, while the template for cross-country is yet to be determined.
The board also canceled fall competitions in several spring-based sports, such as baseball, golf, softball, tennis, swimming and indoor track.