Craig Thompson Explains Decision To Step Down As Mountain West Commish

The 66-year-old has been the only commissioner of the Mountain West Conference.

Craig Thompson announced Wednesday that he is stepping down as the Mountain West Conference commissioner.

The move will be effective December 31, 2022 after nearly 24 years leading the conference. The 66-year-old has been the only commissioner of the Mountain West, and it was the second Division I conference that Thompson helped launch. 

“It has been an honor to be part of the Mountain West Conference and direct its growth since 1998, the year in which the Conference was formed,” Thompson said in the press release. “To work with our conference staff and the leadership of our member institutions through the years as we have pursued our collective vision has been a rewarding experience. I am grateful to every person and institution who has been a part of our journey and I wish them—and the Conference—the very best in the years ahead.”

Through his guidance, the Mountain West teams competed in five Bowl Championship Series/College Football Playoff bowl games and six inaugural bowls. He’s the only active FBS commissioner who has 30-plus years of experience leading a multi-sport conference. 

“The entire Mountain West Conference owes a debt of gratitude to Craig for his selfless service over the history of our conference,” University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes, Chair of the Conference Board of Directors said in the press release. “His fingerprints are on every accomplishment and every initiative we have undertaken, and he has positioned the Conference to continue to be among the nation’s elite. We look forward to celebrating Craig this fall and during our 25th anniversary year, and although his departure will leave a void we are grateful that Craig will be available as a consultant to the MWC as we navigate the changes taking place in college athletics. We wish Craig and Carla and their children all the very best.” 

Thompson said that “one remaining priority was expansion of the College Football Playoff and viable access for the Mountain West.” This was finally accomplished earlier this month when the College Football Playoff’s executive board approved an expansion to 12 teams.

This format is the same that was introduced 15 months ago, and Thompson was one of the four members on the subcommittee that created this model.  

“I take considerable pride in my committed engagement to this effort over the past two-and-a-half decades and look forward to the finalization of those details in the coming months,” Thompson said in his announcement of stepping down. “With CFP expansion accomplished and having invested almost a third of my life in the Mountain West, the time is now right for me to conclude my tenure and allow the Conference to continue its momentum under new leadership.”