Mountain West Basketball: Examining 8 potential candidates for expansion

By Joey Loose | Sep 10, 2021

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 10: A general view of the court shows the Mountain West Conference logo before the start of the a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament between the San Diego State Aztecs and the Colorado State Rams at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 10, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Colorado State won 71-63. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

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Mountain West Basketball UTEP Miners (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

UTEP

There are a number of different directions the Mountain West could go to hunt for new members, including taking a few programs from Conference USA. We don’t specifically know what the conference could hypothetically be looking for, whether this search is imminent or a few years down the line, but UTEP is one of the schools that stands out immediately.

The basketball team has certainly had its ups and downs, but seem to be trending back up after hiring outstanding coach Joe Golding from Abilene Christian. The Miners have great facilities and are located right there near New Mexico on the very western tip of Texas. A clear issue is the football program, which has really struggled in recent years, having not won a bowl game in over 50 years. Maybe the program would be jumpstarted after nearly two decades of stagnating in Conference USA.

UTEP pushes the Mountain West into Texas, giving them a gateway into the El Paso market. However, the Miners might not be the best choice for a proactive addition considering their lack of success recently in a few of the flagship sports. They’re also located very close to New Mexico State and it’s fair to wonder if the MWC would pick them over the Aggies unless both teams got the invite of course.