Mountain West Conference indefinitely postpones fall sports

 The Mountain West Conference announced that it will postpone all fall sports due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the hope that the sports will be able to be played in the spring.

"We were hopeful we could carefully and responsibly conduct competition as originally scheduled with essential protocols in place," Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in an official statement. "However, numerous external factors and unknowns outside our control made this difficult decision necessary."

The Mountain West is the second FBS conference to indefinitely postpone fall sports, with the Mid-Atlantic Conference voting to do so on Saturday. The Big Ten is also reportedly planning to postpone fall sports, as the pandemic has shown no signs of slowing down, and many experts believe a second wave will be coming in the fall.

Thompson said that the Division I Council will be discussing the status of student-athletes who won't be playing this fall and indicated that being on campus may be the safest option for most student-athletes. He also noted that this announcement did not mean that the conference's men's and women's basketball seasons have been postponed, even though the season technically starts in the fall.

The Mountain West Conference is comprised of San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Jose State, UNLV, University of Wyoming, Utah State, University of New Mexico, Colorado State, University of Nevada (Reno) and Air Force. 

As more college conferences consider postponing or canceling fall sports, several prominent college athletes, including Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, have voiced their desire for sports to be played.