Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State Joins Mountain West
8/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | General
Aug. 18, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - California State University, Fresno President John D. Welty announced Wednesday, Aug. 18, that Fresno State has accepted the invitation for the Bulldog Athletics teams to compete in the Mountain West Conference in the next two years.
The invitation was received Wednesday morning and at 7:30 p.m., Welty announced that Fresno State would leave the Western Athletic Conference, where it has competed since 1992.
The Mountain West's members are San Diego State, Brigham Young University, Air Force, UNLV, Utah, TCU, New Mexico, Colorado State and Wyoming. Boise State will leave the Western Athletic Conference next year to join the Mountain West, which began operations in 1999.
Fresno State will be renewing rivalries with several universities that developed during the years many of the Mountain West's members played in the Western Athletic Conference.
Fresno State student-athletes play in 16 NCAA Division I sports.
In the press conference, Welty said, "Fresno State is honored to have been invited to join the Mountain West Conference and I am pleased to announce that we will accept the invitation!"
Just before the press conference, Welty said, he spoke with the Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson and conveyed the acceptance.
"We have been proud to be a member of the Western Athletic Conference and compete against its very fine teams," Welty added. "We've fought hard in the WAC, won championships and enjoyed the competition."
Fresno State Athletics Director Thomas Boeh said, "We are proud that this invitation from the Mountain West represents recognition of the quality of our athletics program as well as the consistent, and sometimes extraordinary, accomplishments of our student-athletes, coaches and staff."
"We hold a deep appreciation for our 18-year membership in the Western Athletic Conference and value the wonderful opportunities that the league has provided Fresno State. We now look forward to the next chapter in the evolving history and traditions of Bulldog Athletics," Boeh said.
Welty said that like Fresno State, Mountain west member institutions are committed to high academic standards as well as competitive intercollegiate athletics.
"Fresno State's strong support for the growth and distinction of its academic programs, and for student success, will remain our highest priorities," he added. "We believe that our academic programs stand to benefit as the new relationship evolves."
Welty said the university has weighed "opportunities that would be beneficial to our student-athletes, our Athletics program, our loyal Red Wave fans and the university community. As we considered this invitation, we looked at all of these and believe our decision to move to the Mountain West Conference is in the best interest of everyone."
"Fresno State is honored to accept the invitation to join the Mountain West Conference," said Fresno State President John Welty. "We look forward to competition against some universities we have not faced previously and to renewing rivalries with San Diego State, Colorado State and several other schools that we enjoyed previously."
"The Air Force Academy is pleased to hear that Fresno State and Nevada have accepted our invitation to join the Mountain West Conference," said Lt. General Mike Gould, Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy and Chair of the MWC Board of Directors. "Both of these schools are great additions to the academic and athletic excellence of the Conference, and we look forward to working with them both on and off the field."
"The addition of Fresno State and Nevada further enhances the Mountain West Conference," said Commissioner Craig Thompson. "Our Board of Directors has continued to be diligent and aggressive inexecuting our strategy for positioning the MWC in the national landscape. We are excited to welcome these two institutions into the Mountain West. Both fit geographically and create new Conference rivalries."
The Mountain West Conference was founded with eight members in 1998. TCU joined the Conference in 2005 and Boise State University accepted an invitation to the league on June 11, 2010.
Reactions to Fresno State joining the Mountain West Conference: Fresno State head football coach Pat Hill: "This is an exciting day for Fresno State and for Bulldog football. There are some great programs in the Mountain West and we are looking forward to renewing rivalries with some of those schools who we used to play each year. The new look of the Mountain West is a very good football conference and will have the opportunity to earn an automatic spot in the BCS. We are looking forward to it."
Fresno State head baseball coach Mike Batesole: "This is an exciting day for the entire Fresno State community; our university, our student-athletes, our fans and Bulldog Baseball. We are very proud of our association with and our commitment to the WAC and we look forward to renewing some old rivalries within the MWC. It is a solid move for all of our teams and the specific potential it presents for baseball is very exciting."
Fresno State head women's soccer coach Brian Zwaschka: "This is an exciting time for us as a soccer program anyway, but the conference move fits into the overall vision of our Athletic Director for this department at the perfect time. We are all poised to compete at the highest level possible and the quality of the Mountain West is a great stage for us."
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