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Las Vegas • With football realignment again lurking in the background, the Mountain West Conference holds its annual preseason football media event this week at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
Players and coaches from all 12 schools will attend. So will commissioner Craig Thompson, who will likely be asked the same questions as a few years ago, when Utah, TCU and BYU left the conference and Boise State and San Diego State considered it.
This time around, the Big 12 is exploring expansion, including the possibility of football-only members.
While every Mountain West school would embrace an invitation to join a Power 5 conference and reap the financial rewards that go along with it, a handful have been included on everyone's Big 12 watch-list.
Colorado State and its proximity to the Denver media market makes some sense. So does Boise, which has enjoyed almost unequaled success on the field over the past decade.
Beyond the Rams and Broncos, officials from San Diego State, New Mexico and UNLV made it known they would gladly open the door, if the Big 12 knocked.
During a radio interview this week, Boise State athletic director Curt Apsey probably spoke for most of his colleagues at Mountain West schools when he said, "We're very happy with where we're at. [But] we're always open to considering and evaluating opportunities that come before us."
In May, it seemed the Mountain West wouldn't have to worry about any of its current members being poached by P5 conferences.
Utah State president Stan Albrecht told The Tribune, "We're situated right. This is the right conference with the right schools. It's the right geographic footprint. … If you look at the institutions, it's a natural place for us.
"Is it stable? Is it always going to be there for us? All I can tell you is we get inquiries every month from institutions that would like to come into the Mountain West."
Asked at the time if he expected any current Mountain West members to soon leave, Albrecht said, "If the Big 12 came calling, the reality is we have some institutions that would jump at it. But I don't think that's going to happen."
Whether the Big 12's decision in recent days to explore expansion has changed the terrain is the big question, of course.
The agenda for the media gathering includes a question-and-answer session by Thompson and a rules presentation by coordinator of officials Greg Burks. The league will also announce results of its preseason poll as well as the projected all-conference team.
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MWC media days
• The Mountain West will hold its football media days this week.
• The annual gathering is Tuesday and Wednesday in Las Vegas.