2000 Mountain West Conference football season

2000 Mountain West Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Number of teams	8
2001 NFL draft
Top draft pick	Andre Dyson, cornerback, Utah
Picked by	Tennessee Titans, 60th overall
Regular season
Champion	Colorado State
Runners-up	Air Force
Football seasons
←  1999 2001  →

2000 Mountain West Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 14 Colorado State $		6	–	1					10	–	2
Air Force		5	–	2					9	–	3
UNLV		4	–	3					8	–	5
BYU		4	–	3					6	–	6
New Mexico		3	–	4					5	–	7
Utah		3	–	4					4	–	7
San Diego State		3	–	4					3	–	8
Wyoming		0	–	7					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 2000 Mountain West Conference football season was the second since eight former members of the Western Athletic Conference banded together to form the Mountain West Conference. Colorado State won the conference championship in 2000, making the Rams the first to win an outright league title after the three-way tie in 1999.

Coaching changes

• Vic Koenning took over at Wyoming, replacing Dana Dimel. ^[1]

Bowl games

Bowl	Date	Stadium	City	Result
Las Vegas Bowl	December 21, 2000	Sam Boyd Stadium	Las Vegas, Nevada	UNLV 31, Arkansas 14
Liberty Bowl	December 29, 2000	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium	Memphis, Tennessee	Colorado State 22, Louisville 17
Silicon Valley Classic	December 31, 2000	Spartan Stadium	San Jose, California	Air Force 37, Fresno State 34

Awards

• Co-Coaches of the Year: Sonny Lubick, Colorado State and John Robinson, UNLV
• Co-Offensive Players of the Year: QB Matt Newton, Sr, Colorado State and QB Matt Thiessen, Sr, Air Force
• Defensive Player of the Year: LB Rick Crowell, Sr, Colorado State
• Co-Freshmen of the Year: DL Jason Kaufusi, Utah and DB Brandon Ratcliff, New Mexico

Source: ^[2]

All Conference Teams

First-team:

Offense
Quarterback	Matt Newton, Sr, Colorado State AND Matt Thiessen, Sr, Air Force
Running back	Jeremi Rudolph, Sr, UNLV Cecil Sapp, So, Colorado State
Wide receiver	Ryan Flemming, Jr, Air Force Pete Rebstock, Jr, Colorado State
Tight end	Jose Ochoa, Jr, Colorado State
Offensive Line	John Greer, Sr, UNLV Tim Stuber, Sr, Colorado State Doug Kaufusi, Jr, Utah David Hildebrand, Sr, Air Force Justin Borvansky, Sr, Colorado State
Kicker	Owen Pochman, Sr, BYU
Kick returner	Pete Rebstock, Jr, Colorado State

Defense
Defensive line	Patrick Chukwurah, Sr, Wyoming Setema Gali, Sr, BYU Brian Johnson, Jr, New Mexico Anton Palepoi, Jr, UNLV
Linebacker	Rick Crowell, Sr, Colorado State Justin Ena, Jr, BYU Kautai Olevao, Sr, Utah
Defensive back	Andre Dyson, Sr, Utah Kevin Thomas, Jr, UNLV Will Demps, Jr, San Diego State John Howell, Sr, Colorado State
Punter	Aaron Edmonds, Jr, BYU

Second-team:

Offense
Running back	Adam Tate, Jr, Utah Luke Staley, So, BYU
Wide receiver	Steve Smith Sr., Sr, Utah J. R. Tolver, So, San Diego State
Tight end	Tevita Ofahengaue, Sr, BYU
Offensive Line	Jon Samuelson, Sr, New Mexico Adam Goldberg, So, Wyoming David Moreno, Jr, San Diego State Jason Scukanec, Jr, BYU Matt Dayoc, Sr, Air Force
Kicker	Dave Adams, Sr, Air Force
Kick returner	Steve Smith Sr., Sr, Utah

Defense
Defensive line	Chris Hoke, Sr, BYU Hans Olsen, Sr, BYU Jerome Haywood, Jr, San Diego State Pete Hogan, So, Colorado State
Linebacker	Mike Barnett, Sr, New Mexico Jomar Butler, Jr, San Diego State C. J. Zanotti, Sr, Air Force
Defensive back	Jared Lee, Sr, BYU Ricky Sharpe, So, San Diego State Justin Gallimore, Jr, Colorado State Stephen Persley, Jr, New Mexico
Punter	Brian Simnjanovski, So, San Diego State

References

1. Gullberg, Ron (December 14, 1999). "UW names Koenning head coach". Casper Star-Tribune . p. 1. Retrieved June 7, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "All-MWC Teams". North County Times . December 2, 2000. p. 29. Retrieved June 7, 2024– via Newspapers.com.