Thompson steps down as MWC Commissioner

September 14, 2022 — Press Release

Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson announced today his decision to step down effective December 31, 2022, following nearly 24 years at the helm of the Conference. Thompson, is currently the longest-tenured active Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) commissioner. 

“The entire Mountain West Conference owes a debt of gratitude to Craig for his selfless service over the history of our conference,” said University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes, Chair of the Conference Board of Directors. “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 25^th 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, 66, is the only Commissioner in the history of the Mountain West Conference, which officially began operations in January 1999. Under his leadership, the Conference negotiated nearly $600 million in television revenue to support its member schools, conference teams have participated in five Bowl Championship Series (BCS)/College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games, as well as six inaugural bowl contests, and Thompson led successful member expansion efforts over the years to strengthen the Conference.

Over his career, Thompson has also been a member of the Executive Committee and the Director’s Cup Committee of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), as well as the governing NCAA Council and various Council subcommittees. In addition, he has played a prominent role in hosting numerous men’s and women’s NCAA postseason basketball tournaments in St. Louis, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Denver. Prior to his current role, Thompson served as the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference for nearly eight years and as the only commissioner of the American South Conference prior to the merger of those two leagues in 1991. 

As conference realignment spread throughout the collegiate landscape a decade ago, Thompson positioned the Mountain West for the future with the additions of Fresno State and the University of Nevada on July 1, 2012, and San José State University and Utah State University on July 1, 2013. The University of Hawai‘i also joined the league as a football-only member on July 1, 2012, while Colorado College became a member in women’s soccer on July 1, 2014.

Thompson’s leadership and vision have helped the Conference enhance its television revenue and exposure. In January 2020, the Mountain West announced a $270 million, six-year media-rights agreement with CBS and FOX Sports. Beginning in 2020-21 and running through 2025-26, football and men’s basketball games will be televised on CBS, CBS Sports Network, Paramount Plus, FOX, FS1, and FS2. FOX Sports also will have exclusive rights to the Mountain West Football Championship game, which will be televised annually on the FOX family of networks. 
 
Thompson has been instrumental in strengthening the position of the Mountain West in the college football landscape – both in the previous BCS format and in the current CFP structure. In 2006, he spearheaded an effort that resulted in better access for the MW and more than doubled the annual BCS revenue on an annual basis for non-automatic-qualifying conferences.  With the evolution to the new 12-team CFP format the Conference’s annual postseason revenue will have quadrupled from the initial BCS distribution levels.

While at the Sun Belt Conference, he spent the majority of his time addressing national trends and challenges in intercollegiate athletics, television exposure, issues relating to conference membership, and promoting corporate involvement. In 1997-98, the Sun Belt instituted a comprehensive sportsmanship policy, which earned Thompson designation as a 1998 Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport. Under Thompson’s leadership, the Sun Belt was active in expansion as it continued to strengthen its posture nationally, adding Florida International University and the University of Denver.

Prior to its merger with the Sun Belt, Thompson served as the first and only commissioner of the American South Conference, which boasted an NCAA national champion in women’s basketball during its first year. The American South also gained immediate national cable television exposure on ESPN and sent numerous teams into NCAA postseason play during the conference’s four-year history.

Preceding his move to commissioner, Thompson served four years as the Director of Communications for the Metro Conference in Atlanta. While at the Metro, he directed communications operations and administered conference championship events. Thompson originated the Metro Conference Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association, began a weekly radio program with over 300 affiliate stations, and originated a weekly satellite video program involving all Metro institutions. He also took on administrative duties such as coordinating officials, scheduling tournament and regular season play and handling legislative rules interpretations.

Thompson graduated from the University of Minnesota with an undergraduate degree in journalism. Following graduation, he spent two years as assistant sports information director at Kansas State University, earning numerous CoSIDA publication awards. He then spent three years as director of public relations and promotions for the NBA’s Kansas City Kings.