Craig Thompson was the Mountain West Conference’s first employee when he was named Commissioner on October 15, 1998, and has navigated the Conference through the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics. He continues to create and improve opportunities for Mountain West institutions and student-athletes to be successful both academically and athletically as the league enters its 23rd season of competition.
Since the Mountain West opened its doors on January 4, 1999, the league has been progressive in its approach and has flourished under Thompson’s guidance. He has been instrumental in negotiating nearly $600 million in television revenue and has been an innovator in the postseason bowl structure as MW teams have participated in five Bowl Championship Series (BCS)/College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games, as well as six inaugural bowl contests.
As conference realignment spread throughout the collegiate landscape a decade ago, Thompson positioned the Mountain West for the future with the additions of Fresno State and the University of Nevada on July 1, 2012, and San José State University and Utah State University on July 1, 2013. The University of Hawai‘i also joined the league as a football-only member on July 1, 2012, while Colorado College became a member in women’s soccer on July 1, 2014.
Thompson’s leadership and vision have helped the Conference enhance its television revenue and exposure. In January 2020, Mountain West announced a $270 million, six-year media-rights agreement with CBS and FOX Sports. Beginning in 2020-21 and running through 2025-26, football and men’s basketball games will be televised on CBS, CBS Sports Network, Paramount Plus, Fox, FS1 and FS2. FOX Sports also will have exclusive rights to the Mountain West Football Championship game, which will be televised annually on the FOX family of networks.
Thompson has been instrumental in strengthening the position of the Mountain West in the college football landscape - both in the previous BCS format and in the current CFP structure. In 2006, he spearheaded an effort that resulted in better access for the MW and more than doubled the annual BCS revenue on an annual basis for non-automatic-qualifying conferences. The MW has been steadfast in its efforts to find a way to make the collegiate postseason football system fair for all universities. Through its first 22 years of competition, the Mountain West has earned 106 bowl bids, amassing a 58-47 (.552) all-time record in 105 games after the 2018 PROSERV First Responder Bowl was subsequently declared a “no contest” due to poor weather conditions.
A 43-year veteran of athletic administration, Thompson has spent all but eight of those years sitting in a commissioner’s chair, making him the only active FBS commissioner with more than 30 years of experience leading a conference. Throughout his career, Thompson has been an integral part of the national landscape in intercollegiate athletics, holding many prestigious posts on NCAA and sport-specific national committees. Thompson currently sits on the CFP Management Committee while also serving as a member of the College Football Officiating Board of Managers, LLC. Additionally, he recently closed out a second stint as a member of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. His first five-year term from 1995-2000 culminated with him serving as Chair of the committee from July 1, 1999 to September 1, 2000.
Over the tenure of his career, Thompson has also been a member of the Executive Committee and the Director’s Cup Committee of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), as well as the governing NCAA Council and various Council subcommittees. In addition, he has played a prominent role in hosting numerous men’s and women’s NCAA postseason basketball tournaments in St. Louis, Atlanta, New Orleans and Denver. Prior to his current role, Thompson served as the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference for nearly eight years and as the only commissioner of the American South Conference prior to the merger of the two leagues in 1991.
While at the Sun Belt Conference, he spent the majority of his time addressing national trends and challenges in intercollegiate athletics, television exposure, issues relating to conference membership, and promoting corporate involvement. In 1997-98, the Sun Belt instituted a comprehensive sportsmanship policy, which earned Thompson designation as a 1998 Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport. Under Thompson’s leadership, the Sun Belt was active in expansion as it continued to strengthen its posture nationally, adding Florida International University and the University of Denver.
Prior to its merger with the Sun Belt, Thompson served as the first and only commissioner of the American South Conference, which boasted an NCAA national champion in women’s basketball during its first year. The American South also gained immediate national cable television exposure on ESPN and sent numerous teams into NCAA postseason play during the conference’s four-year history.
Preceding his move to commissioner, Thompson served four years as the Director of Communications for the Metro Conference in Atlanta. While at the Metro, he directed the communications operations and administered conference championship events. Thompson originated the Metro Conference Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association, began a weekly radio program with over 300 affiliate stations and originated a weekly satellite video program involving all Metro institutions. He also took on administrative duties such as coordinating officials, scheduling tournament and regular-season play, and handling legislative rules interpretations.
Thompson graduated from the University of Minnesota with an undergraduate degree in journalism. Following graduation, he spent two years as assistant sports information director at Kansas State University, earning numerous CoSIDA publication awards. He then spent three years as director of public relations and promotions for the NBA’s Kansas City Kings.
Thompson and his wife, Carla, have a son (Ted) and a daughter (Emma).
ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE
1998-present Commissioner, Mountain West Conference
1991-98 Commissioner, Sun Belt Conference
1987-91 Commissioner, American South Conference
1983-87 Director of Communications, Metro Conference
1980-83 Director of Public Relations & Promotions, Kansas City Kings
1978-80 Assistant Sports Information Director, Kansas State University
NCAA ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE
2014-present College Football Playoff Management Committee
- Philanthropic Subcommittee (2015-present)
- Operations Subcommittee (2015-present)
- Site Selection Subcommittee (2014-present)
2017-21; 1995-00 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee
2014-18 NCAA Division I Council
- NCAA Division I Council Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee (2014-18)
- Men’s Basketball Legislative Subcommittee (2016-17)
2013-17 Chair, FBS Subdivision of the Collegiate Commissioners Association
2012-present CCA Branding Ad Hoc Working Group
2011-12 Division I Bowl Licensing Task Force
2008-10 Consultant, Task Force on Commercial Activity in Intercollegiate Athletics
2008-10 NCAA Football President
2007-present College Football Officiating Board of Managers, LLC
2002-04 NCAA Men’s Basketball Issues Committee
1999-13 NCAA Football Board of Directors
1999-00 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee Chair
1994-97 NCAA Basketball Officiating Committee
1989-92 NCAA Council
- NCAA Council Subcommittee to Review Reform Proposals (1991)
- NCAA Council Subcommittee to Develop a Division I-AAA Football Classification (1990-91)
- NCAA Council Subcommittee on Athletics Certification (1991-92)
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES AND HONORS
2014-present Coalition to Protect the Student-Athlete Experience
2005 NCAA Football College Relations Committee
2002 Horizon Awards Voting Academy
2000-present Lou Groza Award Voting
2000-present Naismith Awards Voting
1999-03 USA Football Board of Directors
1998 Sports Ethics Fellow, Institute for International Sport
1994-98 Vice Chairman, Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation
1992-98 Directors’ Cup Committee
- National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Executive Committee (1992-94)
1992-98 District III Chairman, NIT Advisory Committee
1991 National Advisory Committee, Atlanta Tipoff Club
1991-93 Division I-AAA Vice President, Collegiate Commissioners Association
1990-98 Selection Committee, Babe Didrikson Zaharias Award