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, as the men’s program has made the NCAA tournament in three of the last four seasons.

The addition also 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, which announced in May that Grand Canyon and Seattle would join as members, expressed disappointment about the Lopes’ 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.”

The Mountain West was spurred into action in September when five of its members — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State — were poached by the Pac-12. UNLV, one of the founding members of the Mountain West, considered a subsequent offer to join the Pac-12 but ultimately decided to stay put after significant financial concessions.

UNLV men’s basketball coach Kevin Kruger acknowledged last month that football is the driving factor behind conference realignment, adding it’s something his team will “have to navigate through.”

The Rebels are looking to reach to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 season. UNLV’s women’s basketball team has made it the last three years after dominating the Mountain West.

Lady Rebels coach Lindy La Rocque said after practice Friday she’d been waiting for the news of Grand Canyon’s addition, noting how impactful it will be for women’s sports.

The Grand Canyon women’s basketball team set a program record for Division I wins last season by going 24-8. It was first in the Western Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll for the second consecutive year when the results were released Oct. 16.

“Grand Canyon is building a really competitive athletic department across the board,” La Rocque said. “Their basketball programs are very good, and for us as a conference to add competitive teams like that, I think that’s a step forward for our league.”

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