Schools set to choose ‘Mountain West’ name

Steve Carp

Friday, Oct. 2, 1998 | 9:59 a.m.

Five finalists interviewed for commissioner's post

It's not official, but the Mountain West Conference has won "The Great Name Race" and will be christened any day now by the eight schools breaking away from the Western Athletic Conference to form a new league.

The final decision rests with the presidents of the departing eight. A recommendation from the new league's transition committee is expected early next week and word is Mountain West will win out over "American West Conference" and "Great West Conference," the other two names that were being bandied about.

Utah athletic director Chris Hill confirmed Thursday that Mountain West has the most support among the eight schools -- UNLV, Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming. But he said it would be up to the presidents to ultimately decide.

"We'll make a recommendation, but it's their call," Hill said following two days of meetings at the MGM Grand.

UNLV athletic director Charles Cavagnaro said: "All three are still on the table. But the table is getting smaller and in the middle of it is the name 'Mountain West Conference.'"

The meetings also produced movement on two other important fronts for the new league, which will begin play in 1999.

The committee interviewed five finalists for the commissioner's job over the past two days and will make their recommendations to the presidents early next week as to who should be brought back for a second interview.

Among those interviewed were former UNLV associate athletic director Keith Tribble, currently the executive director of the Orange Bowl. Others interviewed were Dave Maggard, currently with Turner Sports, Sun Belt commissioner Craig Thompson, Big Ten assistant commissioner Kevin Weiberg and Alabama sports marketing head Wright Waters.

Hill said the hope is to have a commissioner in place before the end of the month. That person would likely have a say as to where the conference's headquarters will be -- either Las Vegas or Colorado Springs.

Seven cities submitted proposals to be the new league's home. The list has been pared to two and both Las Vegas and Colorado Springs can expect a visit from the new league in the near future.

Cavagnaro said he was impressed by the diversity of the commissioner candidates.

"All five bring something special to the table," he said. "You've got someone with bowl experience, someone with TV, someone who is a conference commissioner, a marketing guy. They all possessed an intimate knowledge of college athletics but they all have different strengths.

"This is such a major step for us -- identifying a commissioner. The commissioner speaks a lot about who you are and we have a wide range of people from which to choose. I think we're very fortunate to have attracted such a high quality of individuals."