Mountain West adds non-football playing school as 9th member

Grand Canyon University will join the Mountain West as its ninth member in 2026, the conference announced Friday.

The development comes after the Mountain West continued to rebuild by adding UTEP on Oct. 1.

Grand Canyon doesn’t play football, but the Lopes will compete in 17 other men’s and women’s sports beginning in the 2026-27 academic year — basketball being the most notable.

The development marks the Mountain West’s first expansion to Arizona.

“Grand Canyon has been on an upward trajectory both academically and athletically for the past decade,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “Its addition to the league will enhance the competition across the Mountain West as we strive to earn NCAA postseason bids and compete for national championships.”

Grand Canyon vice president of athletics Jamie Boggs shared the same thoughts after the school left the West Coast Conference to join the Mountain West.

“We want to best position ourselves to be nationally competitive, and we are excited about the vision and future of the Mountain West,” Boggs said in a statement.

The WCC expressed disappointment about Grand Canyon’s decision.

“We have been notified by Grand Canyon University of its decision to withdraw as a member of the West Coast Conference,” commissioner Stu Jackson said in a statement. “We are disappointed with its decision to seek conference membership elsewhere just months after completing its membership agreement with the WCC that would have enhanced its national profile. The WCC views GCU’s decision as a missed opportunity to be part of one of the premier conferences in men’s basketball.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.