As the Mountain West gets ready for its 23rd season to kick off Saturday, there’s no more intriguing question in the conference than who will emerge as the West Division champion.
Four teams appear deep enough to make a run at the title, which has historically been cornered by San Diego State and Fresno State. The rise of both Nevada and San Jose State — the nation’s most surprising conference champion in 2020 — has stirred things up, though, turning the West into a much more open group than the Mountain Division.
The favorite? That would be Nevada, which has never won an MW divisional title, but returns a loaded roster from a 7-2 team.