2024 Mountain West Media Days: 5 pressing questions for MWC coaches at Las Vegas event
2024 Mountain West Media Days will begin Wednesday with student-athletes available to the media, while 12 head coaches face the cameras on Thursday. The two-day media event will be hosted in Las Vegas at the Circa Resort and Casino.
The 2024-25 college football season is rapidly approaching, and many conferences are preparing for their Media Days event in the upcoming weeks. Here is a look at five major questions for coaches at Mountain West Media Days.
5 pressing questions for coaches at 2024 Mountain West Media Days
#1 How will coaches adjust to the scheduling agreement with the Pac-12?
With the Pac-12 down to just two teams, the Mountain West has agreed to a one-year scheduling agreement with the conference in 2024. This could open the door to a future merger between the two conferences, as the other former Pac-12 schools have already relocated to new ones.
A major focus of Mountain West Media Days will be around this scheduling agreement and what certain coaches' strategies look like with the addition of Pac-12 teams to their schedules.
The MWC matchups against Pac-12 teams do not count toward each team's conference record. Washington State and Oregon State are the two remaining Pac-12 teams, and each team is scheduled to play six games against MWC opponents in 2024.
#2 What will the coaching situation at Utah State look like this season?
Nate Dreiling is scheduled to attend Mountain West Media Days as the interim head coach of the Aggies. Utah State head coach Blake Anderson was placed on administrative leave, and the program says they intend to fire Anderson for noncompliance with its Title IX policies.
Dreiling will be fielding questions from the media during Media Days, and many will be surrounding the school's plan for a head coach this season. The news of this planned firing broke last week, making this a recent topic that the school will have to deal with near the start of the 2024 season.
Dreiling was named as the interim head coach on July 2, after originally coming over from New Mexico State to become the Utah State defensive coordinator this year.
#3 What does Boise State’s Spencer Danielson expect in his first full season as the team's head coach?
Spencer Danielson is entering his first full season at Boise State after finishing the last four games as the team's interim head coach in 2023, following Andy Avalos' firing. Avalos began the season 5-5 before being let go, and Danielson would finish out the season 3-1, winning the Mountain West championship.
Danielson will now attend Mountain West Media Days following his hiring as the Broncos head coach on Dec. 3, 2023. With the success he led Boise State to during his time as the interim head coach, there will be questions surrounding what the expectations are during his first full season as the team leader.
#4 What can we expect from San Jose State under Ken Niumatalolo?
Former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo will take over as the San Jose State Spartans coach in 2024. Niumatalolo spent last season as the director of leadership and acting tight ends coach at UCLA.
After a second-place finish in the MWC last season, San Jose State parted ways with coach Brent Brennan and named Niumatalolo as his replacement. He signed a five-year contract with the program and takes over a team that finished 7-6 last season with a 6-2 conference record.
The Mountain West Conference Media Days will be a great setting for Niumatalolo to lay out his expectations for the team this season to the media. The team was 0-3 in bowl games under Brennan and last won the conference championship in 2020.
#5 What can Sean Lewis bring to San Diego State this season after spending last season as the OC at Colorado?
Sean Lewis will take over as the head coach at San Diego State in 2024, replacing Brady Hoke after his retirement. Lewis will have many questions at Mountain West Media Days after working under Deion Sanders as the offensive coordinator at Colorado last season.
Lewis' offense at Colorado averaged 453.3 yards of total offense in 2023 and was led by quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Lewis will be hoping to bring that same kind of explosive offense to a San Diego State team that finished last in the MWC last season.
The Aztecs went 4-8 in 2023 with a 2-6 conference record. They ranked 114th in the nation, averaging 20.5 points per game and 406.9 yards of total offense. Bringing in an offensive-minded coach could be a major boost for a team that struggled to put points on the board last season.
Which coach or player are you most excited to hear from during Mountain West Media Days 2024? Let us know in the comment section.
Also Read: Mountain West Media Days 2024 Schedule: Day-by-day breakdown, start times, channel, venue and more explored