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Mountain West commissioner built conference from nothing

By Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 13, 2008 at 10:15 p.m.

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Craig Thompson.

Photo by Brian Lehmann / The Rocky

Craig Thompson.

Getting to know . . . Craig Thompson

* How many football games do you watch in a week?

"I watch five to eight some weeks, just Mountain West. Then in the course of business, I'll turn on Thursday night ESPN or Friday games."

* How many MWC games do you attend?

"I've probably gone to a game every 10 days or two weeks the past two or three years, replacing going to a game every week."

* What do you do to unwind?

"I don't have a great social life but one thing I do probably every day is listen or follow Minnesota Twins baseball (via computer, XM Radio or cell phone)."

* Who was the biggest influence in your career as an athletic administrator?

"There are two people. DeLoss Dodds was my first boss at Kansas State. He was the athletic director there. And the late Cotton Fitzsimmons. I was the PR guy for the Kansas City Kings. I really learned a lot about people management from both those individuals."

* Do you have a hobby?

"I like to say I play golf only when I have to. It's booster clubs, best balls, fundraisers that trot me out once in a while. I kind of dabble a little bit in collecting coins. "

* Best thing about living in Colorado?

"I think the change. I've lived in Minneapolis; Kansas City; Manhattan, Kan.; Atlanta; New Orleans . . . and they all say, 'Just wait, the weather will change.' Not like Colorado. It could be 50 (degrees) today and 83 tomorrow. I just enjoy the climate and the different changes."

Goals

Thompson identifies key objectives for the MWC.

* Brand identity. "There's still people who don't know the acronym MWC. We want to continue to develop a brand identity."

* Academic enhancement. "I don't think . . . we are doing as well as we could be or should be. I know I share that sentiment with our board of directors."

* Television distribution and production. "The whole world is moving step by step toward high-definition broadcasts, and we need to get there. We are doing some of our Thursday night games on CBS College in HD."

* Scheduling. "Continue to schedule quality opponents and try to win those games."

High five for the MWC

Commissioner Craig Thompson lists five significant accomplishments in the first 10 years of the Mountain West Conference.

* No. 1: On the air. Launching the mtn. television network and its distribution this year to DirecTV. "We've had over 13,000 hours in two years of Mountain West Conference exclusive programming," he said.

* No. 2: BCS breakthrough. The MWC becoming the first conference without an automatic qualifier to have a team compete in a BCS bowl game (Utah beat Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl in 2005).

* No. 3: Growth spurt. Starting from ground level to a fully functioning, NCAA-qualifying conference, with four bowl affiliations and a comprehensive TV package in nine years. "We didn't even own a pencil," he said.

* No. 4: Solid financial management. "We have operated under budget for nine consecutive years, and our distribution has increased 150 percent," he said. "We distributed $8 million back in 1999-2000 and this year it was over $20 million."

* No. 5: Success on the field. Winning two Bowl Challenge Cups in the past four years. "We were 4-1 last year in the bowl games, we're 18-13 overall in bowl games and a number of them against BCS automatic qualifiers," he said.

Thanks for the memories

Some of the memorable MWC athletes Thompson has watched in the past 10 years.

* Brian Urlacher, New Mexico linebacker

* Mike Anderson, Utah running back

* Alex Smith , Utah quarterback (No. 1 NFL pick)

* Andrew Bogut , Utah basketball player (No. 1 NBA pick)

* Danny Granger, New Mexico basketball player

* Luke Staley, BYU running back

* Ryan Moore, UNLV golfer

* Kim Smith, Utah women's basketball player

* Linda Frolich, UNLV women's basketball player

* Dana Pounds, Air Force, javelin

* Loree Smith, Colorado State, hammer throw

More College Sports

More stories »

As the Mountain West Conference turns 10 this year, with its prestige growing in football and other sports, it's easy to forget just how far the league has come.

"We had no schedule, we had nothing," said Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh, a faculty representative when the new league was formed and part of the transition team that helped select the MWC's first commissioner.

"We had a bunch of teams that put some money in a pot and said, 'OK, now what do we do?' The first thing we had to do was hire a commissioner and say, 'OK, it's yours, take us to the next level.' "

That was the challenge Craig Thompson accepted 10 years ago Wednesday when he was named the first MWC commissioner.

"I was given a three-ring notebook of what had been done prior to them hiring me," Thompson said, "and I got a pat on the back and they said, 'Good luck, put us on the map.' "

It's safe to say, 10 years later, Thompson has done exactly that.

It all started in 1998, when eight schools in the Western Athletic Conference made a bold decision to form a new league.

The WAC had expanded into a bulky 16-team conference and it was hard to retain geographic rivalries in scheduling.

So Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming, Utah, Brigham Young, New Mexico, San Diego State and Nevada-Las Vegas decided to go their own way. Texas Christian was added as the ninth member in 2005.

Under Thompson, the MWC has been an innovator. The league was the first to experiment with coaches' challenges and instant replay in football.

Thompson also helped the MWC gain respect nationally and make inroads with the BCS. This season, BYU and Utah are nationally ranked, and the conference has an impressive record against BCS competition.

"I think top to bottom it's a pretty impressive league and our record outside of conference speaks for itself," Colorado State football coach Steve Fairchild said.

The league made another bold move by forming the Mountain West Sports Network - the mtn. - as the first network dedicated to a college athletic conference.

Before, MWC schools were miffed about having to play on weekdays and at odd times under their $7 million-a-year contract with sports TV kingpin ESPN.

After early distribution problems, the mtn. this season is available nationally on DirecTV with a contract negotiated by Thompson for three times what ESPN offered.

"Craig has taken so much abuse from the fans, the media and the ADs," Mueh said of the problems with network distribution. "I had the utmost confidence that we would work this out. The result is the contract we have now and the strength of the league."

The MWC became the first nonautomatic-qualifying BCS conference to play in and win a BCS bowl game with Utah's 2005 Fiesta Bowl victory against Pittsburgh.

The MWC also was the first conference to have a school with No. 1 overall picks in the NFL and NBA drafts the same year, with Utah quarterback Alex Smith and Utes center Andrew Bogut.

MWC teams have produced 554 All-Americans in 19 sports in the past nine years, and MWC schools have captured seven NCAA titles.

MWC teams have participated in 31 bowl games and earned 39 postseason bids in men's basketball and 41 in women's basketball, including Wyoming's 2007 Women's National Invitation Tournament championship.

"All of us collectively had to make this (MWC) thing go forward, and Craig did a good job of getting us started," Utah athletic director Chris Hill said.

7 questions for MWC commissioner Craig Thompson

1. How do you feel about helping start a new conference?

"It's unique for me, personally, because this is the second time I've done it (in 1987, he started the American South, which merged with Sun Belt after four years). This is the second time I've had the opportunity to start a league from literally we didn't own a pencil to all the things that go into running a Division I conference. So that experience really helped me."

2. How have things developed heading into the 10th year of the MWC?

"I think it's going very well. We've learned some things along the way. I guess the most frustrating things for fans, alumni and, at times, with the coaches are that you aren't always moving fast enough."

3. Colorado Springs was picked as league headquarters. Has that worked well?

"It really came down to two cities, Colorado Springs and Las Vegas. We visited both cities. The advantage Colorado Springs had is they had just bid for the Big 12 headquarters. So they had a template of what attractions and what enhancements they could offer. With the national governing bodies, the USOC, the Air Force Academy, this is a very collegiate town. I've always said that it really doesn't matter where our conference office is; I contend if you had a Winnebago, cell service and Internet access that you could go from city to city, week to week and run the office."

4. How important was the addition of TCU to the conference?

"They've been a great addition with the academics that they bring, their history, the athletic success. They won the football championship their first year; they are very progressive. When we brought them in we did a study. It was something like 12 to 13 percent of our football rosters were Texans, and I bet that's improved by 5 or 6 percent just opening up the recruiting grounds of the state of Texas."

5. What kind of trials and tribulations did you go through in getting the mtn. TV network established and distributed?

"I've said many times it's not for the faint-hearted because distribution is without a question the biggest challenge. There are two or three reasons we made the change. You have control of your schedule - we'll play 91 percent of our football games on Saturdays. We selected some Thursday games, and I think that is going to work well for us. That's become a little more mainstream. So we're maintaining the balance between getting the games played when the majority of fans want to attend the games. And you also then give those people who can't get to the stadium the opportunity to watch those games. We have somewhere between 86 and 88 percent of our football games televised. And all three networks, Versus, CBS College and the mtn., are now available nationally on DirecTV. We've got back control of our schedule. The distribution problems are getting better, and the DirecTV piece was a huge component."

5 Has the MWC lost anything by not have the national ESPN exposure?

"I don't think so. Pollsters, Harris Poll, coaches, AP are able to follow us and track us."

6. Any chance of the MWC making more inroads or becoming more involved in the BCS?

"The best way we can make inroads is to beat Michigan on the road (as Utah did earlier this season). We played good people and beat good people. Those national games are what will make our mark. There is an opportunity to gain automatic access if you meet certain criteria. We did not meet that criteria over the last four years. Maybe over the next four years we can. "

7. Are there any plans for MWC expansion?

"Not really. When we brought TCU in we did a study and the two options were somewhere between 10 and 12 members and going to divisional play. The thought was, 'Didn't we just leave that? Isn't that the reason there is a Mountain West, so we can all play each other home and home?' So we decided on the number nine (teams) and then it was an easy decision at that point with TCU. We haven't spent any time since TCU came into the league talking about expansion. Nine can be a very good number because it gives you four home and four road football games. You are playing everybody."

Comments

  • October 14, 2008

    10:03 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    cruz3d writes:

    I'm a CSU grad and, needless to say, very proud of how the MWC schools do in non-conference play. Unfortunately, I'm now living in the Phoenix area and subscribe to Dish Network. I understand the reasoning as to not wanting to expand the number of school members, but how about expanding the television coverage to other outlets? Just curious as to the status of future media coverage.

  • October 15, 2008

    11:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Squatch writes:

    I have a question, When will us DishNetwork subscribers get the Mountain?

  • October 16, 2008

    3:34 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    schmee44 writes:

    Dear Mr. Thompson - A big NO THANK YOU for the terrible decisions you have made! By creating the Mtn. and signing a contract with CSTV you have alienated your fans, not helped bring exclusive TV to them. It has taken years to finally get things going where DirectTV and cable carry the Mtn., but DishNet still does not. It also keeps them OUT of the national spotlight. You initially made the change to go away from Thursday night games on ESPN when now, you have a Thursday night game just about every week in the conference still. Also... one of the more memorable bone-headed decisions you made was when you renewed your contract with the Liberty Bowl! Thank goodness that has come to an end. But now what are we left with? The Las Vegas Bowl!?!? Good location, terrible Bowl Game. What ever happened to the Holliday Bowl? More $ for the conference, and better, nationally ranked opponents. The two biggest money makers in your conference (UofU, BYU) have suffered the most from your decisions. I can't wait for the day when the MWC decides to move forward with a NEW commissioner and moves the headquarters to SLC, a central location in the MWC. For the love of all that is good in this world, please, please, please Mr Thompson start making some smart decisions for the MWC and THINK before you pull the trigger!