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. 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

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined

! Left

! Subsequent<br />conference(s)

! Current<br />conference(s)

|-

|

| Provo, Utah

| 1875

| Private

| 34,100

| Cougars

| 1937

| 1962

| various

| Big 12<br />(2023–present)

|-

| Colorado State University

| Fort Collins, Colorado

| 1870

| Public

| 34,166

| Rams

| 1937

| 1962

| FBS Independent<br />(1962–1968)<br />Western (WAC)<br />(1968–1999)

| Mountain West (MW)<br />(1999–2026)<br />

|-

|

| Denver, Colorado

| 1864

| Private

| 11,952

| Pioneers

| 1937

| 1962

| various

| Summit<br />(2013–26)<br />

|-

|

| Missoula, Montana

| 1893

| Public

| 10,104

| Grizzlies

| 1951

| 1962

| FBS Independent<br />(1962–1963)

| Big Sky (BSC)<br />(1963–present)

|-

|

| Albuquerque, New Mexico

| 1889

| Public

| 25,441

| Lobos

| 1951

| 1962

| Western (WAC)<br />(1962–1999)

| Mountain West (MW)<br />(1999–present)

|-

|

| Salt Lake City, Utah

| 1850

| Public

| 33,000

| Utes

| 1937

| 1962

| various

| Big 12<br />(2024–present)

|-

| Utah State University

| Logan, Utah

| 1888

| Public

| 27,691

| Aggies

| 1937

| 1962

| various

| Mountain West (MW)<br />(2013–26)<br />

|-

|

| Laramie, Wyoming

| 1886

| Public

| 12,450

| Cowboys &<br />Cowgirls

| 1937

| 1962

| Western (WAC)<br />(1962–1999)

| Mountain West (MW)<br />(1999–present)

|}

;Notes:

Former members

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Joined

! Left

! Nickname

! Subsequent<br />conference(s)

! Current<br />conference(s)

|-

|

| Boulder, Colorado

| 1876

| Public

| 33,246

| 1937

| 1947

| Buffaloes

| Big 8<br />(1947–1996)<br />Pac-12<br />(2011–2024)

| Big 12<br />(1996–2011,<br />2024–present)

|}

;Notes:

Membership timeline

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DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1937 till:2030

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:40 top:5

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id:line value:black

id:bg value:white

id:Full value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports

id:FullxF value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football

id:AssocF value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.8) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only

id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.8,0.9,0.7) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for another sport only

id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference

id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved in another conference when the other color has already been used

id:OtherC3 value:rgb(0.888,0.803,0.483)

id:WAC value:rgb(0.999,0.500,0.500)

id:Ind value:rgb(0.83,0.83,0.83)

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width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:Full from:1937 till:1947 text:Colorado (1937–1947)

bar:1 shift:(25) color:OtherC1 from:1947 till:1964 text:Big 7

bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1964 till:1994 text:Big 8

bar:1 color:OtherC3 from:1994 till:2011 text:Big 12

bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2011 till:2024 text:Pac-12

bar:1 color:OtherC3 from:2024 till:end text:Big 12

bar:2 color:Full from:1937 till:1962 text:Denver (1937–1962)

bar:2 color:Ind from:1962 till:1976 text:Ind.

bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1990 text:D-II/NAIA

bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1990 till:1996 text:CAC

bar:2 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:1998 text:D-II

bar:2 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:1999 text:D-I

bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2012 text:Sun Belt

bar:2 color:WAC from:2012 till:2013 text:WAC

bar:2 shift:(30) color:OtherC3 from:2013 till:2026 text:Summit

bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2026 till:end text:WCC

bar:3 color:Full from:1937 till:1962 text:Utah State (1937–1962)

bar:3 color:Ind from:1962 till:1978 text:Ind.

bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1988 text:PCAA

bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:2005 text:Big West

bar:3 color:WAC from:2005 till:2013 text:WAC

bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2026 text:MW

bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2026 till:end text:Pac-12

bar:4 color:Full from:1937 till:1962 text:Colorado State (1937–1962)

bar:4 color:Ind from:1962 till:1968 text:Ind.

bar:4 color:WAC from:1968 till:1999 text:WAC

bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2026 text:MW

bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2026 till:end text:Pac-12

bar:5 color:Full from:1937 till:1962 text:BYU (1937–1962)

bar:5 color:WAC from:1962 till:1999 text:WAC

bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2011 text:MW

bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:2011 till:2023 text:WCC

bar:5 color:OtherC3 from:2023 till:end text:Big 12

bar:6 color:Full from:1937 till:1962 text:Utah (1937–1962)

bar:6 color:WAC from:1962 till:end text:WAC

bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2011 text:MW

bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2011 till:2024 text:Pac-12

bar:6 color:OtherC3 from:2024 till:end text:Big 12

bar:7 color:Full from:1937 till:1962 text:Wyoming (1938–1962)

bar:7 color:WAC from:1962 till:end text:WAC

bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:end text:MW

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1937 till:1951 text:Border

bar:8 color:Full from:1951 till:1962 text:New Mexico (1951–1962)

bar:8 shift:(30) color:WAC from:1962 till:1999 text:WAC

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:end text:MW

bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:1937 till:1950 text:Pacific Coast

bar:9 color:Ind from:1950 till:1951 text:

bar:9 color:Full from:1951 till:1962 text:Montana (1951–1962)

bar:9 color:Ind from:1962 till:1963 text:

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:end text:Big Sky

bar:N color:yellow from:1937 till:1962 text:Skyline Conference

bar:N color:blue from:1962 till:end text:Post-Skyline

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  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space.

<#

</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