Report: Mountain West ‘Optimistic’ About Playing 8-Game Football Schedule Starting Oct. 24

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Mountain West Conference is reportedly heading towards playing a football season in the fall.

According to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, the conference presidents will vote on Friday on possibly starting the season October 24 with an 8-game schedule.

If the vote is delayed, McMurphy is reporting that the season would consist of a 7-game schedule starting on October 31. All 12 schools in the conference intend to play.

Mountain West optimistic about playing 8-game schedule starting Oct. 24, w/presidents possibly voting Friday, sources told @Stadium. If presidents delay vote, MW likely would only have 7-game schedule starting Oct. 31. All 12 schools intend to play at this time, source said

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 22, 2020

The Mountain West postponed their fall sports on August 10 due to the coronavirus pandemic. About two weeks ago, the conference released a statement saying that they were working on a plan to start fall sports sooner than 2021. Then they released another statement on September 16 when the Big Ten decided to play next month.

“Multiple subgroups within the Conference are working daily on solutions to the existing challenges in order to facilitate a return to play for Mountain West football, and other Conference sport programs, at the earliest possible opportunity,” Thompson said in the statement. “This includes finalizing a plan for frequent, rapid response testing and continuing to monitor the status of public health directives in our MW states and communities.”

The Mountain West is one of four conferences in FBS that postponed their fall sports. The Big Ten, Pac-12 and MAC were the other three. Now, the Big Ten is going to start their season on October 24. The Pac-12 is voting on when to start their season on Thursday.