2000 Mountain West Conference football season
{{Short description|College football conference season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox sports season
| title = 2000 Mountain West Conference football season
| color = #{{NCAA color|Mountain West Conference|1}}
| color text = #{{NCAA color|Mountain West Conference|2}}
| league = NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
| sport = Football
| logo =
| pixels = 125px
| caption =
| duration =
| no_of_teams = 8
| attendance =
| TV =
| draft = 2001 NFL draft
| draft_link = 2001 NFL draft
| top_pick = Andre Dyson, cornerback, Utah
| picked_by = Tennessee Titans, 60th overall
| season = Regular season
| season_champs = Colorado State
| season_champ_name= Champion
| second_place = Air Force
| MVP =
| MVP_link = Mountain West Conference football individual awards
| top_scorer =
| top_scorer_link =
| seasonslist =
| seasonslistnames = Football
| prevseason_year = 1999
| nextseason_year = 2001
}}
{{2000 Mountain West Conference football standings}}
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
Bowl games
| class="wikitable" |
| Bowl
!Date !Stadium !City !Result |
|---|
| Las Vegas Bowl
|December 21, 2000 |UNLV 31, Arkansas 14 |
| Liberty Bowl
|December 29, 2000 |Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |Colorado State 22, Louisville 17 |
| Silicon Valley Classic
|December 31, 2000 |Air Force 37, {{cfb link|year=2000|team=Fresno State Bulldogs football|title=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:{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/north-county-times/148924415/|title=All-MWC Teams|work=North County Times|date=December 2, 2000|access-date=June 7, 2024|page=29|via=Newspapers.com}}
All Conference Teams
First-team:
{{col-float-begin}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
!colspan="2"|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 |
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
!colspan="2"|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 |
{{col-float-end}}
Second-team:
{{col-float-begin}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
!colspan="2"|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 |
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
!colspan="2"|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 |
{{col-float-end}}