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Las Vegas, Nev. • Keeping up with the big leagues is tough, but the Mountain West is managing to hold its own, was the message from commissioner Craig Thompson on Tuesday during the league media days.

Thompson said all the schools in the MWC are offering full cost of attendance to their athletes except New Mexico, UNLV, Nevada and Air Force — the latter of which is treated as an exception since it technically is a service academy and a non-scholarship rule.

According to the latest figures he has, Thompson said schools are spending an average of $3,813 per student to meet the costs of attendance for the upcoming academic year.

Boise State is spending the most at $5,100 while Colorado State is the lowest at $2,400. Utah State is spending an average of $3,800.

The full cost of attendance is considered the difference between tuition, room and board and other incidentals.

USU raised some eyebrows earlier this year when it asked for, and received, $1.5 million in funding from the state legislature to help it cover the cost of attendance as part of a "Utah Wellness Program."

That funding might have been on Thompson's mind when he said schools were getting creative in meeting the needs of their student-athletes.

"It comes down to the resources you have, getting creative and working diligently," he said.

While the expenses with cost of attendance might put a burden on schools, the league members were helped by a sizable increase in revenue, Thompson said. The league distributed $47 million in revenue, of which $4 million was from bowl games.

Last year's distribution of $29 million was the previous high, but schools saw an increase this year thanks to the new College Football Playoff format that included Boise State.

The Broncos received the highest payout of $9.3 million, of which $4.1 million came from their inclusion in the Fiesta Bowl. Utah State is receiving about $4 million.

While the increase is welcome, Thompson noted the gap between the MWC and other power conferences is growing. The SEC announced a record distribution of $455.8 million this year, equating to $31.2 million per school.

"There is still a huge disparity and that isn't going to change," Thompson said.

Thompson also addressed several other issues during his press conference.

• On the possibility of an 8-team playoff, Thompson was supportive, but isn't in a hurry to see it expand.

"We need to give it time to mature," he said of the current system. "I've been a playoff supporter since I took this job, but we will see where it goes."

• Thompson tried to end rumors Boise State could be nabbed by the Big 12, saying such a possibility had not been discussed in talks with Big 12 officials.

• Don't expect kickoff times for games to get any earlier as Thompson noted TV will continue to dictate kickoff times.

"The sun sets and there are two leagues playing, the Mountain West and Pac-12," he said.