Nevarez named new Mountain West Conference commissioner
Nov. 12—The Mountain West Conference has named Gloria Nevarez its new commissioner.
She will replace Craig Thompson on Jan. 1, becoming just the second commissioner in league history. Thompson announced earlier this fall he was stepping down after a 24-year run atop a conference that came into existence in 1998 when half of what was then the Western Athletic Conference splintered to form a new league.
Nevarez has been with the WCC since 2018. Prior to that, she had stints as an administrator with the Pac-12, the University of Oklahoma, San Jose State and the University of California, Berkeley. She helped the WCC go through an aggressive rebranding and expansion of its national multimedia rights contract. That included an eight-year contract with ESPN and new partnerships with CBS Sports and Stadium.
As a college student, she played four years of women's basketball at UMass before getting a doctorate from the University of California.
Nevarez said she's prepared to usher in a new era for the MWC, one that will surely revolve around conference realignment and the non-Power 5 leagues' relationship with the College Football Playoff. The CFP's board of directors, which Thompson was a part of, recently agreed to expand the playoff format from four to 12 teams as early as 2026.
The MWC's membership fluctuated wildly during Thompson's era, with the exodus of high-profile members like Utah, Brigham Young and TCU and the absorption of schools such as Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, Utah State and San Jose State. Recent moves outside the MWC have circulated rumors that some of the current high-profile members could jump ship to the Pac-12 or Big 12.
"I think the one thing we can all be certain [of] is no one really knows what's going on," Nevarez said. "It's changing minute by minute."
As for the multiple challenges that threaten the stability of the Mountain West — and leagues all over the country, for that matter — she said the key to avoiding any issues is keeping an ear to the ground and always being ready to adapt on the fly.
"Fortunately I'm kind of in the room on a lot of those discussions and I'm ready and able to bring all the information and perspective I have to the Mountain West," she said.
