UTEP joins Mountain West: League nears full-time membership as Miners defect from Conference USA

UTEP will leave Conference USA and join the Mountain West Conference beginning in July 2026, it was announced Tuesday. The Mountain West Conference entered serious discussions with UTEP over the weekend about joining the league, sources confirmed to CBS Sports. The move gives the MWC eight members with seven full-time status (Hawaii is a soccer-only member). The NCAA requires eight full members for a league to be recognized as an FBS conference

The development comes on the heels of the Mountain West reportedly following Northern Illinois and Toledo as football-only members. MW is also in the exploratory phase with Texas State, which will be a full-time member of the conference should talks get serious, sources told CBS Sports.

“Joining the Mountain West Conference will bring us back into competition with historic rivals in the West,” UTEP President Heather Wilson said in a statement. “There's no doubt it will be better for our student athletes, our fans and El Paso.”

UTEP will owe Conference USA $2 million in exit fees. The El Paso, Texas, television market is seen as a plus for MW and a decision is expected soon

UTEP had long eyed the Mountain West as a potential home before the latest round of realignment began earlier this month when the Pac-12 stripped five members from the current MW lineup. UTEP joined Conference USA in 2005 after spending the previous 38 years in the WAC. Miners then dropped out of MW and joined C-USA.

The UTEP program won a championship in the WAC in 2000 and last advanced to a bowl game in 2021, when it lost to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. UTEP is 0-4 this season under first-year coach Scotty Walden, who was hired from FCS Austin Peay.

The Mountain West announced Thursday that its remaining members signed a memorandum of understanding to remain with the league through 2032 as the conference still needs to bolster its ranks amid the departure of five schools for the Pac-12.

“We are excited to welcome The University of Texas at El Paso to the Mountain West as the next step in our strategic membership initiative,” said Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez. “The addition of UTEP restores historic rivalry with several of our member institutions within the geographic footprint, provides valuable exposure to the great state of Texas, and contributes to our priority of maximizing the student-athlete academic and athletic experience.”

Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State announced last week that they will leave the MW for the newly reformed Pac-12 starting in July 2026. The Pac-12 is suing MW for a “predation penalty” that could push the total monetary penalty to the Pac-12 for their exit to nearly $140 million.