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.

History The conference began operating on December 3, 1937, when most of the larger schools in the Rocky Mountain 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. At the time of formation, the formal name of Mountain States Athletic Conference was adopted, although newspapers were already calling it the Big Seven at that time. The conference became popularly known as the Skyline Conference or Skyline Six after Colorado left in 1947. 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. 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). 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. He was succeeded in August 1960 by Paul Brechler, who had been athletic director at the University of Iowa. Brechler served as commissioner until the conference disbanded, and became the first commissioner of the WAC.

Member schools Final members Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined Left Subsequentconference(s) Currentconference(s) Provo, Utah 1875 Private 34,100 Cougars 1937 1962 various Big 12(2023–present) Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado 1870 Public 34,166 Rams 1937 1962 FBS Independent(1962–1968)Western (WAC)(1968–1999) Mountain West (MW)(1999–2026) Denver, Colorado 1864 Private 11,952 Pioneers 1937 1962 various Summit(2013–26) Missoula, Montana 1893 Public 10,104 Grizzlies 1951 1962 FBS Independent(1962–1963) Big Sky (BSC)(1963–present) Albuquerque, New Mexico 1889 Public 25,441 Lobos 1951 1962 Western (WAC)(1962–1999) Mountain West (MW)(1999–present) Salt Lake City, Utah 1850 Public 33,000 Utes 1937 1962 various Big 12(2024–present) Utah State University Logan, Utah 1888 Public 27,691 Aggies 1937 1962 various Mountain West (MW)(2013–26) Laramie, Wyoming 1886 Public 12,450 Cowboys &Cowgirls 1937 1962 Western (WAC)(1962–1999) Mountain West (MW)(1999–present)

Notes

Former members Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Joined Left Nickname Subsequentconference(s) Currentconference(s) Boulder, Colorado 1876 Public 33,246 1937 1947 Buffaloes Big 8(1947–1996)Pac-12(2011–2024) Big 12(1996–2011,2024–present)

Notes

Membership timeline

List of champions Football

1938 – Utah 1939 – Colorado 1940 – Utah 1941 – Utah 1942 – Utah and Colorado 1943 – Colorado 1944 – Colorado 1945 – Denver 1946 – Denver and Utah State 1947 – Utah 1948 – Utah 1949 – Wyoming 1950 – Wyoming 1951 – Utah 1952 – Utah 1953 – Utah 1954 – Denver 1955 – Colorado A&M 1956 – Wyoming 1957 – Utah 1958 – Wyoming 1959 – Wyoming 1960 – Wyoming and Utah State 1961 – Wyoming and Utah State

Men's basketball Pre-Skyline

1910–11 – Colorado School of Mines 1911–12 – Colorado School of Mines 1912–13 – Colorado 1913–14 – Colorado 1914–15 – Denver 1915–16 – Colorado, Colorado College 1916–17 – Colorado College 1917–18 – Colorado 1918–19 – Colorado 1919–20 – Colorado 1920–21 – Colorado 1921–22 – Colorado College 1922–23 – Colorado College 1923–24 – Colorado College (Colorado) 1924–25 – Colorado College (Eastern), BYU (Western) 1925–26 – Colorado State (Eastern), Northern Colorado (Eastern), Utah (Western), Utah State (Western) 1926–27 – Colorado College (Eastern), Montana State (Western) 1927–28 – Wyoming (Eastern), Montana State (Western) 1928–29 – Colorado (Eastern), Montana State (Western) 1929–30 – Colorado (Eastern), Montana State (Western), Utah State (Western) 1930–31 – Wyoming (Eastern), Utah (Western) 1931–32 – Wyoming (Eastern), BYU (Western), Utah (Western) 1932–33 – Colorado State (Eastern), Wyoming (Eastern), BYU (Western), Utah (Western) 1933–34 – Wyoming (Eastern), BYU (Western) 1934–35 – Northern Colorado (Eastern), Utah State (Western) 1935–36 – Wyoming (Eastern), Utah State (Western) 1936–37 – Colorado (Eastern), Denver (Eastern), Montana State (Western), Utah (Western) 1937–38 – Colorado, Utah

Skyline

1938–39 – Colorado 1939–40 – Colorado 1940–41 – Wyoming 1941–42 – Colorado 1942–43 – Wyoming 1943–44 – N/A 1944–45 – Utah 1945–46 – Wyoming 1946–47 – Wyoming 1947–48 – BYU 1948–49 – Wyoming 1949–50 – BYU 1950–51 – BYU 1951–52 – Wyoming 1952–53 – Wyoming 1953–54 – Colorado State 1954–55 – Utah 1955–56 – Utah 1956–57 – BYU 1957–58 – Wyoming 1958–59 – Utah 1959–60 – Utah 1960–61 – Colorado State, Utah 1961–62 – Utah

See also List of Skyline Conference (1938–1962) football standings List of defunct college football conferences

References

External links