| Skyline Conference | |
| Association: | NCAA |
| Division: | University Division |
| Region: | Western United States |
| Map: | Mountain States Conference-USA-states.png |
| Map Size: | 250 |
The Skyline Conference was a college athletic conference based in the Western United States that was active from December 1937 to June 1962. The conference's formal name was the Mountain States Athletic Conference, although it was also known as the Mountain States Conference along with informal but popular nicknames. It is unrelated to the contemporary Skyline Conference that is active in NCAA Division III in the New York City area.
The conference began operating on December 3, 1937, when most of the larger schools in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference left to form a new conference. The seven charter members of the conference were: BYU, Colorado, Colorado A&M (now Colorado State), Denver, Utah, Utah State, and Wyoming.[1] At the time of formation, the formal name of Mountain States Athletic Conference was adopted,[2] although newspapers were already calling it the Big Seven at that time.[3] The conference became popularly known as the Skyline Conference or Skyline Six after Colorado left in 1947.[4] Colorado joined the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA), informally known as the Big Six Conference, which took over the Big Seven name and would later become the Big Eight Conference.
The conference became known as the Skyline Eight after New Mexico and Montana joined in 1951.[5] The conference officially dissolved as of July 1, 1962, after four of its members (BYU, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) departed to form the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).[6] Montana operated as an independent for one football season in 1962 until the formation of the Big Sky Conference in 1963. Colorado State became independent until it joined the WAC in 1968. Utah State operated as an independent for fifteen seasons, until it joined the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (later named the Big West Conference) in 1977.
The conference first had a full-time commissioner in 1949, appointing Dick Romney, who had led the Utah State Aggies football program since 1919.[7] He was succeeded in August 1960 by Paul Brechler, who had been athletic director at the University of Iowa.[8] [9] Brechler served as commissioner until the conference disbanded, and became the first commissioner of the WAC.[10]
| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joined | Left | Nickname | Subsequent conference(s) | Current conference(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provo, Utah | 1875 | Private | 34,100 | 1937–38 | 1961–62 | Cougars | WAC (1962–63 to 1998–99) Mountain West (1999–2000 to 2010–11) WCC (2011–12 to 2012–23) | Big 12 (2023–24 to present) | ||
| Colorado State University | Fort Collins, Colorado | 1870 | Public | 34,166 | 1937–38 | 1961–62 | Rams | FBS Independent (1962–63 to 1967–68) WAC (1968–69 to 1998–99) | Mountain West (1999–2000 to present) | |
| Denver, Colorado | 1864 | Private | 11,952 | 1937–38 | 1961–62 | Pioneers | various | Summit (2013–14 to present) | ||
| Missoula, Montana | 1893 | Public | 10,104 | 1951–52 | 1961–62 | Grizzlies | FBS Independent (1962–63) | Big Sky (1963–64 to present) | ||
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | 1889 | Public | 25,441 | 1951–52 | 1961–62 | Lobos | WAC (1962–63 to 1998–99) | Mountain West (1999–2000 to present) | ||
| Salt Lake City, Utah | 1850 | Public | 33,000 | 1937–38 | 1961–62 | Utes | WAC (1962–63 to 1998–99) Mountain West (1999–2000 to 2010–11) | Pac-12 (2011–12 to 2023–24) | ||
| Utah State University | Logan, Utah | 1888 | Public | 27,691 | 1937–38 | 1961–62 | Aggies | FBS Independent (1962–63 to 1977–78) Big West (1978–79 to 2004–05) WAC (2005–06 to 2012–13) | Mountain West (2013–14 to present) | |
| Laramie, Wyoming | 1886 | Public | 12,450 | 1937–38 | 1961–62 | Cowboys and Cowgirls | WAC (1962–63 to 1998–99) | Mountain West (1999–2000 to present) |
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bar:3 color:Full from:1937 till:1962 text:Utah State (1937–1962) bar:3 color:Ind from:1962 till:1978 text:Independent bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1988 text:PCAA bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:2005 text:Big West bar:3 color:WAC from:2005 till:2013 text:WAC bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:Mountain West
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bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1937 till:1951 text:Border bar:8 color:Full from:1951 till:1962 text:New Mexico (1951–1962) bar:8 color:WAC from:1962 till:1999 text: WAC bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:end text:Mountain West
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TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(300,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Skyline Conference membership history"