| Conference Members 2026-27 * | Football | Other Sports | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | |  |
|
| Air Force | MW | MW | ||
| Hawaii | MW | MW | ||
| Nevada | MW | MW | ||
| Nevada-Las Vegas | MW | MW | ||
| New Mexico | MW | MW | ||
| San Jose State | MW | MW | ||
| Wyoming | MW | MW | ||
| UTEP | MW | MW | ||
| Northern Illinois | MW | Horizon League | ||
| North Dakota State | MW | Summit League | ||
| UC Davis | Big Sky | MW | ||
| Grand Canyon | - | MW | ||
| Total Members | 10 | 10 |
* Former conference members Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State joined the Pac-12 Conference effective July 1, 2026. Effective for 2026-27, UC Davis, UTEP, North Dakota State and Northern Illinois joined as member schools.
2025 Operating Results: Mountain West Schools
Per NCAA reporting, Mountain West Conference schools averaged a net operating loss of $ 31 million in 2025. These losses were funded by booster contributions averaging $ 5 million per school and combined school support and student fees averaging $ 25 million per school:
2025 Operating Results ($) Mountain West Schools * | Operating Revenue | Operating Expenses | Operating Loss 2025 | Booster Contributions | Student Fees & School Support | Endowment & Investment | Surplus (Deficit) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 22,618,008 | 58,698,857 | -36,080,849 | 6,205,330 | 28,629,521 | 1,083,884 | -162,114 | |
| Nevada | 22,944,272 | 57,753,809 | -34,809,537 | 6,249,979 | 29,219,669 | 268,039 | 928,150 | |
| New Mexico | 27,710,263 | 56,978,562 | -29,268,299 | 6,257,113 | 27,357,822 | 270,091 | 4,616,727 | |
| North Dakota State | 14,997,697 | 34,212,041 | -19,214,344 | 5,521,578 | 10,810,354 | 3,458,630 | 576,218 | |
| Northern Illinois | 10,335,519 | 37,950,764 | -27,615,245 | 1,924,268 | 19,065,048 | -34,688 | -4,660,617 | |
| San Jose State | 13,629,312 | 50,868,991 | -37,239,679 | 2,830,771 | 29,052,329 | 360,631 | -4,995,948 | |
| UNLV | 33,603,169 | 74,767,676 | -41,164,507 | 4,591,874 | 38,467,909 | 611,758 | 2,507,034 | |
| UTEP ** | 9,359,165 | 37,580,518 | -28,221,353 | 6,920,068 | 22,256,387 | 501,947 | 1,457,049 | |
| Wyoming | 21,760,836 | 51,007,390 | -29,246,554 | 9,249,082 | 22,818,117 | 1,791,132 | 4,611,777 | |
| Average per School | 19,662,027 | 51,090,956 | -31,428,929 | 5,527,785 | 25,297,462 | 923,492 | 319,810 |
* Operating Data not available for Air Force Academy.
** Operating expenses for UTEP do not include revenue sharing payments reported on 2025 NCAA filing.
2025 Operating Revenues: Mountain West Schools
Operating Revenues are sources of income received from exchange transactions. This is distinct from athletic department support such as booster contributions, student fees and school funding. This distinction is important when evaluating an organization’s ability to meet expenses.
2025 Operating Revenues Mountain West Schools ($) | Total Revenue | Ticket Sales | Game Guarantees | Media Rights | Conference & NCAA receipts | Licenses & Sponsorships | Other Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 22,618,008 | 5,248,199 | 324,000 | 3,604,922 | 4,753,277 | 4,467,673 | 4,219,937 |
| Nevada | 22,944,272 | 8,839,666 | 2,041,770 | 3,449,920 | 3,857,544 | 3,496,980 | 1,258,392 |
| New Mexico | 27,710,263 | 5,425,515 | 2,565,000 | 3,449,920 | 4,952,172 | 2,942,400 | 8,375,256 |
| North Dakota State | 14,997,697 | 4,566,004 | 1,115,500 | 820,350 | 1,072,841 | 2,425,925 | 4,997,077 |
| Northern Illinois | 10,335,519 | 1,202,591 | 2,445,145 | - | 3,889,171 | 933,280 | 1,865,332 |
| San Jose State | 13,629,312 | 1,873,461 | 870,700 | 3,449,920 | 6,282,954 | 1,070,840 | 81,437 |
| UNLV | 33,603,169 | 10,866,342 | 1,168,000 | 3,449,920 | 5,186,643 | 3,469,382 | 9,462,882 |
| UTEP | 9,359,165 | 1,840,043 | 3,400,230 | 213,820 | 273,129 | 2,601,958 | 1,029,985 |
| Wyoming | 21,760,836 | 4,868,547 | 2,266,283 | 3,452,005 | 4,114,777 | 3,566,654 | 3,492,570 |
| Average per School ($) | 19,662,027 | 4,970,041 | 1,799,625 | 2,432,309 | 3,820,279 | 2,775,010 | 3,864,763 |
2025 Operating Expenses: Mountain West Schools
2025 Operating Expenses ($) Mountain West Schools 2025 | Total Expenses | Coaching Salaries | Admin Salaries | Athletic Scholarships | Game Guarantees | Severance Payments | Recruiting | Team Travel | Uniforms & Equipment | Game Day Expenses | Marketing & Fundraising | Athletic facility debt service, rents & leases | Athletic facility operating costs | Overhead & Administration | Athlete Medical | Athlete Meals | Post-season Expenses | Alston & other Educ benefits | Dues & Memberships | Other Expenses |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 58,698,857 | 9,827,264 | 13,325,738 | 11,291,965 | 3,035,204 | - | 831,951 | 5,509,731 | 1,451,561 | 1,402,688 | 723,971 | 307,932 | 314,136 | 3,736,136 | 1,014,670 | 1,312,195 | 330,193 | 327,402 | 1,016,635 | 2,939,485 | |
| Nevada | 57,753,809 | 10,592,518 | 10,715,899 | 10,379,063 | 887,439 | 70,449 | 987,821 | 5,594,434 | 3,411,916 | 1,228,094 | 1,011,463 | 1,389,043 | - | 7,283,058 | 763,271 | 1,904,715 | - | - | 769,823 | 764,803 | |
| New Mexico | 56,978,562 | 10,525,699 | 9,286,881 | 10,765,330 | 894,500 | - | 1,381,535 | 4,855,540 | 1,640,382 | 2,001,876 | 91,157 | 1,682,819 | 1,100,034 | 1,582,817 | 584,047 | 1,262,597 | 499,244 | 495,525 | 816,150 | 7,512,429 | |
| North Dakota State | 34,212,041 | 6,396,338 | 5,439,294 | 5,304,948 | 142,550 | 77,249 | 518,580 | 3,207,381 | 990,872 | 1,864,339 | 453,255 | 270,713 | 1,535,111 | 2,723,981 | 566,077 | 552,512 | 1,996,530 | 524,985 | 103,515 | 1,543,811 | |
| Northern Illinois | 37,950,764 | 7,403,286 | 6,287,868 | 8,106,428 | 628,020 | 100,828 | 511,055 | 2,568,952 | 865,286 | 680,179 | 671,634 | 19,900 | 808,200 | 3,044,936 | 853,830 | 411,720 | 1,259,214 | - | 197,961 | 3,531,467 | |
| San Jose State | 50,868,991 | 15,536,892 | 8,866,898 | 9,261,389 | 2,239,500 | 308,251 | 510,886 | 3,596,057 | 1,318,672 | 1,662,955 | 859,730 | 2,876,712 | - | 110,359 | 216,173 | 1,132,674 | 1,226,327 | 37,585 | 99,950 | 1,007,981 | |
| UNLV | 74,767,676 | 13,443,358 | 11,273,300 | 11,649,276 | 1,566,992 | 107,757 | 1,941,095 | 5,084,080 | 2,295,020 | 3,261,516 | 478,379 | 213,151 | 4,916,288 | 6,981,382 | 1,558,537 | 1,535,827 | 1,377,423 | - | 811,894 | 6,272,401 | |
| UTEP | 37,580,518 | 6,859,473 | 5,545,054 | 8,275,057 | 409,833 | 212,808 | 820,435 | 3,515,116 | 1,107,369 | 1,413,605 | 682,582 | 1,505,161 | 474,656 | 4,321,353 | 720,086 | 691,504 | 78,394 | 102,100 | 413,483 | 432,449 | |
| Wyoming | 51,007,390 | 9,606,191 | 11,531,560 | 9,298,825 | 1,093,106 | - | 1,287,928 | 3,774,921 | 1,071,958 | 2,077,208 | 2,119,866 | - | 974,859 | 1,497,350 | 1,316,921 | 1,665,697 | 821,257 | 947,444 | 764,311 | 1,157,988 | |
| Average per School ($) | 51,090,956 | 10,021,224 | 9,141,388 | 9,370,253 | 1,210,794 | 97,482 | 976,810 | 4,189,579 | 1,572,560 | 1,732,496 | 788,004 | 918,381 | 1,124,809 | 3,475,708 | 843,735 | 1,163,271 | 843,176 | 270,560 | 554,858 | 2,795,868 |
Operating expenses are expected to increase significantly in 2026 due to impact of revenue sharing and increased scholarship limits for all sports.
College Athletic Departments are already losing money and the cash needed to fund revenue sharing and related costs has to come from somewhere. Athletic departments are aggressively looking to raise as much money as possible via external sources such as increased booster contributions, but ultimately the bulk of the added costs of revenue sharing will likely need to be funded internally at most NCAA schools.
EADA Annual Operating Expenses – Mountain West schools 2022-25:
Per 2025 EADA reporting, average annual athletic department operating costs were $ 46 million for Mountain West schools, a 31% increase in expenses over a 2-year span:
| Athletic Department Annual Expenses * | FY 2025 ($) | FY 2024 ($) | FY 2023 ($) | FY 2022 ($) | 3-year % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | | | ||
| Grand Canyon | 33,277,918 | 30,628,914 | 30,717,802 | 29,071,558 | 14% |
| Hawaii | 53,793,049 | 53,350,682 | 49,418,189 | 43,634,526 | 23% |
| Nevada | 53,153,531 | 53,916,558 | 49,524,849 | 45,228,708 | 18% |
| New Mexico | 56,544,018 | 53,043,230 | 45,941,398 | 43,922,247 | 29% |
| North Dakota State | 34,212,041 | 30,251,922 | 29,824,792 | 26,554,998 | 29% |
| Northern Illinois | 34,342,695 | 24,939,848 | 24,692,669 | 21,413,044 | 60% |
| San Jose State | 42,944,067 | 30,593,724 | 43,937,589 | 37,717,297 | 14% |
| UC Davis | 46,854,471 | 46,626,686 | 40,571,193 | 34,863,428 | 34% |
| UNLV | 74,767,674 | 65,376,772 | 57,517,603 | 42,320,074 | 77% |
| UTEP | 32,413,794 | 36,602,226 | 30,671,998 | 25,236,319 | 28% |
| Wyoming | 50,399,891 | 53,042,120 | 47,746,153 | 41,751,385 | 21% |
| Average per school ($) | 46,609,377 | 43,488,426 | 40,960,385 | 35,610,326 | 31% |
* Expenses per Equity in Athletics Act (EADA) annual reporting. These results are comparable to NCAA membership reporting with one primary exception – EADA reporting does not include payments made for athletic facilities debt service and leases. Consequently, due to the inclusion of these payments, average annual expenses for Mountain West schools per NCAA reporting was $ 51 million in 2025 or about $ 5 million higher per school (see tables below). See our methodology page for more detail and disclosures.
** EADA data is not compiled for the three NCAA I service academy members – Army, Navy & Air Force.
Estimated NCAA Revenue Sharing 2025-26: Mountain West Schools
Based on average operating revenue of around $ 20 million per school (see table above), estimated revenue sharing using the 22% NCAA benchmark results in an average commitment of about $ 4.4 million per school:
| Estimated Revenue Sharing 2025-26 Mountain West Schools | Revenue Share % | Team / Sport Allocation ($) | Eligible Athletes | Average per Athlete ($) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Football | 56% | 2,464,000 | 105 | 23,467 | |
| Men's Basketball | 18% | 792,000 | 15 | 52,800 | |
| All Other Sports | 26% | 1,144,000 | 312 | 3,667 | |
| Average per School | 100.0% | $ 4,400,000 | 432 |
Football and Men’s basketball account for the bulk of team specific revenues at most FBS Group of 6 schools, and athletes on these two teams will be the major beneficiaries of revenue sharing. These are averages per athlete, a few players per team will likely receive substantially higher, while many will receive much less. Schools may pay more or less than the 22% NCAA benchmark, and can also opt out of revenue sharing entirely. Estimates are based on team specific revenues as reported to the NCAA.
Questions on our data? Contact us at: NIL-NCAA.com
Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke, CPA Washington, DC 