Mountain West 'optimistic' football season will begin in October

The Mountain West was one of the first college football conferences to indefinitely postpone its football season due to the coronavirus pandemic. But as the SEC, Big 12 and others have managed to play their seasons without any major outbreaks thus far, the Mountain West is reportedly "optimistic" that they will be able to begin their season in October, barring any unexpected setbacks.

Oct. 24 is the planned start date for the conference which includes Air Force, San Diego State, Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State, UNLV, Fresno State, Hawaii, San Jose State, Colorado State, Nevada and New Mexico. The conference title game will be played on Dec. 19 and the season will be an eight-game schedule that is completely in-conference, which is similar to what other major conferences are doing this season.

The athletic directors met on Monday in order to finalize a plan that "involves frequent antigen testing," so that the virus does not spread and outbreaks are able to be contained effectively. There is no clear timeline on when a vote will take place to officially approve of the season but it has been suggested the vote may end up taking place this week so that programs have ample time to start preparing for their first games.

The Mountain West is not the only conference aiming for an October return, as the Big Ten announced last week that they would also be starting their football season on Oct. 24, starting with Nebraska at Ohio State and Michigan at Minnesota.