johnnyroadtrip.com - Mountain West Basketball Tournament Information

The Mountain West Basketball Tournament

The Mountain West Conference features great rivalries, and is always a competitive league. The conference always sends a couple of teams to the NCAA Tournament and makes a good showing.

Most of the teams in the MWC were originally in the Western Athletic Conference. The WAC got caught up in the conference expansion phenomenon in the early 90's, and the league's quality declined as a result. Eventually, eight schools in the WAC (Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah, and Wyoming) decided to break off and form their own league, the resulting in the Mountain West Conference. The league's first season was 1999.

All eight Mountain West teams participate in the tournament. The men's and women's tournaments are held at the same time and place. The men's 8-9 game is played on Wednesday, along with the women's quarters. The men's quarterfinals are held on Thursday. All semifinals are held Friday, with the championships held Saturday.

Mountain West Tournament Tickets

Tickets to the MWC tournament are usually available on game day when the tournament is held in Vegas; even when UNLV reached the final in 2002, the game came up 4,000 short of a sellout. Regardless, its a good idea to buy tickets in advance to ensure the best seats. Tickets are sold for all sessions and single sessions.

To buy Mountain West Conference Tournament tickets, click here.

Mountain West Tournament Travel Information

The Mountain West is known for the huge home-court advantage its teams enjoy; this doesn't necessarily mean that legions of followers will show up at the tournament. Fans do travel to the event, but not in overwhelming numbers. Las Vegas easily absorbs the visitors; Denver will also have plenty of rooms available, but booking early is recommended. Click here for Las Vegas hotels.

Check out our Las Vegas page for all the info you need about each the city!!

Future Mountain West Tournament Sites and Dates

The Mountain West Conference men's and women's tournaments are held at the same venue on the same weekend. The dates below are for the men's quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. The women's quarters begin one day earlier, with the semis and final on the same day as the men's semis and final.

2009 - March 13-15, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas (Mountain West Tournament Hotels)

2010 - March 12-14, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas (Mountain West Tournament Hotels)

2011 - March 11-13

2012 - March 9-11