The Mountain West will preserve its annual soccer media days Tuesday and Wednesday in Henderson, Nev., with the West Division groups taking the stage on Tuesday and the Mountain Division groups on Friday. Here’s a have a look at some key tale traces to watch during the conference occasion.

1. The TV deal

The MW’s media rights deal is up after this season, so this can be a hot subject matter; even though it’s not going, the league talks approximately it overtly as it currently negotiates with networks. The conference has been planning for this moment for more than one year, and a league’s media rights deal is a big supply of revenue. The MW’s present-day deal – the conference has partnerships with ESPN, CBS, AT&T Sports Networks, and Stadium – can pay the league $thirteen million to $14 million 12 months. Boise State receives approximately $2.8 million of that. The different 10 full individuals of the league earn $1 million $1.1 million each. That’s nowhere close to Power 5 cash, but the one’s numbers will be progressed upon.

The American Athletic Conference lately signed a 12-yr, $1 billion contracts that is fairly inflated because the conference will produce a number of its own content. But that breaks down to almost $7 million per school annually; a discern the MW can not contact regardless of the AAC and MW combating for supremacy amongst Group of 5 meetings. If the MW could double its $1 million in line with school annually, that’d be a huge win. However, the is probably an overly rosy final result.

While the coaches in attendance will beat the drum for more afternoon kickoffs, they also want the maximum revenue from their media rights deal, which means handing kickoff times over to the country-wide networks to a big diploma. The MW will rely on the 4 Rs – revenue, relevance, recruiting, and regaining greater control over kick times – in the negotiations.

2. Expansion

The AAC these days lost UConn, which announced it’ll head again to the Big East. After some hypothesis that the AAC would possibly try to poach an MW college, the league’s commissioner stated the convention may not make it bigger, at the least right now. “We don’t have any plans to add a member to replace UConn,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco stated on the convention’s media days.

We’re no longer focused on all and sundry.” The MW is unlikely to take any actions in the close to future, either, but this tends to be a communique subject at commissioner Craig Thompson’s annual nation of the convention press convention. While I will now not be attending this 12 months’ occasion — we’re sending two other reporters — I would like any person to invite Thompson, “Why is San Jose State nevertheless in the Mountain West?” That would make my day.

3. Momentum in football

The MW had its nice season in football in lots of years in 2018, with Boise State, Fresno State, and Utah State completing in the final AP Top 25. The conference also had a nice rating many of the Group of five meetings in 2018. Can the MW preserve the momentum? Boise State, Fresno State, and Utah State each lost a terrific chew of its employees from last season, but seven of the conference’s 12 teams were bowl eligible closing season, so the league’s depth changed into wonderful.

The West Division also made some profits, with Nevada and Hawaii each hitting 8 wins after every winning simplest 3 the 12 months earlier. In all, four of the six West teams reached a bowl. Football nevertheless drives university athletics, so the MW being right on this recreation is a pinnacle purpose. The conference would not determine any preseason Top 25 teams, this season (perhaps Boise State), but the MW might sign up for having three teams within the final Top 25 and 7 bowl eligible again in a heartbeat.

4. Trying to rebuild in basketball

One should argue remaining year becomes the worst season in the MW’s guys’ basketball records. Yes, the convention had one Top 25 team the whole season (Nevada), and a second makes the NCAA Tournament (Utah State). However, from top to the lowest, the league changed into weak. Outside of the pinnacle groups, none of the alternative 9 made a postseason event. Plus, greater groups had been below-.500 (six) than over-.500 (5). 6 groups were 165th or decreased in Ken Pomeroy’s superior metrics compared to just three the 12 months previous.

Plus, the MW completed fifteenth within the RPI, the simplest one spot beforehand of the WAC. While this is a football media day, there’s usually some basketball talk, too, and guys’ basketball must be higher for the MW to be as robust because it used to be before the massive conference realignment.

5. Any new helmets?

Every team brings their helmets and uniforms to the occasion, so here’s a hazard to peer if any convention contributors made adjustments to their threads. The Wolf Pack could be the usage of new uniforms this season. Whether they debut them on the conference media days is to be decided.

6. What will Rolo do?

Nick Rolovich, the fun-loving former Nevada offensive coordinator and modern-day Hawaii head instruct, is a wild card at these events. In 2017, he employed an Elvis impersonator at $350 in keeping with an hour to shadow him. “Basically, I just stated, ‘Hang out. We’re pals for 2 hours,’” Rolovich joked. That become Plan B. Plan A changed into renting a monkey. However, that might have cost $2,000 and required a permit. In his first MW media days in 2016, Rolovich embarked on a Pokémon Go game that covered Thompson.

Last year, Rolovich employed a Britney Spears impersonator to shadow him. “I do not necessarily need to be yearly courtroom jester at this deal,” Rolovich stated, “however, I suppose we are within the struggle to show how accurate our soccer is, and this receives human beings speaking approximately it.” What will he try this year? Nobody truly is aware of it.