Geographically, the MW covers a broad expanse of the Western United States, with member schools located in California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Hawaii.

Overall, each school that has ever been either a full or football-only member of the MW spent at least three years in the WAC before joining the Mountain West.

The Western Athletic Conference, which had initially announced plans to expand beyond its then-current 10 members to at least 12, ended up with even more potential expansion prospects.

[3] They invited the WAC members New Mexico, San Diego State, and UNLV to join them in what became the Mountain West Conference.

On August 18, 2010, amidst rumors that BYU was considering leaving the Mountain West to go independent in football and rejoin the Western Athletic Conference in all other sports, the Mountain West Conference officially extended invitations to California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) and the University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada).

In late March of that year, the commissioners of both conferences stated that all 16 schools had entered into binding agreements to form a new "association",[13] although the Mountain West and C-USA would have apparently remained separate legal entities.

Keeping SDSU in the conference gave the Mountain West 12 football members, allowing for a Championship Game to be held.

Thompson added that Gonzaga could potentially join the MW as a full but non-football member as early as July 2018.

[21] The Mountain West Conference denied the request for a deadline extension and considered the letter from San Diego State as a formal notice of departure and began to proceed with the separation process; however, San Diego State disputed that its letter of intent was a formal notice.

[23] The MW and San Diego State reached a settlement of their dispute the following month, with SDSU remaining a member for the immediate future.

[30] On October 1, 2024 it was announced that the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) will be joining the Mountain West starting in the 2026–27 academic year.

[31] On October 14, Craig Angelos, athletic director of football-only member Hawaii, confirmed outside reports that the school would upgrade to full MW membership in 2026.

[43] The Mountain West Conference sponsors championship competition in eight men's and 11 women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

Total expenses includes coach and staff salaries, scholarships, buildings and grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance.

The following table shows institutional reporting to the United States Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2021–22 academic year.

[50] The 2015 championship game featured the Air Force Academy Falcons against the San Diego State University Aztecs.

The MW Championship will also no longer be determined by the winners of the two divisions; the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage will play instead.

[53][54] The designated rivals under this system are as follows: Prior to this, the division format was as follows: The Mountain West Conference has agreements with six bowls.

[59] The Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conferences hold an annual challenge series that was renewed in the 2015–16 season after a two-year hiatus.

This impacts endurance in sports like football, soccer, and the distance races in track & field and swimming meets; air resistance in sprints and horizontal jumps in track & field; and aerodynamics in baseball, softball, tennis, golf, and the discus and javelin throws.

In the case of women's soccer-only member Colorado College, "stadium elevation" refers to the school's soccer venue.