LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
The Mountain West Conference held its football media days in Las Vegas Tuesday as coaches discussed everything both on and off the field.
The landscape of college football has certainly changed within the last couple of years, with a four-team playoff looming and teams shuffling in and out of conferences.
That's certainly the case in the MWC where three new teams are coming in and two teams are getting ready to play their last season in the conference.
"The football powers that be are trying to get this thing more correct and hopefully they do so, it's good for everybody," said Boise State head coach Chris Peterson.
With scandals at both Ohio State and Penn State, the image of college football is also changing.
"College football has taken a lot of heat over the last year," said New Mexico head coach Bob Davie. "I mean, when you think about Jim Tressel and Ohio State, who I have a lot of respect for, and Joe Paterno, both of those guys have gone down in scandals. Let's not bury our heads in the sand. We're under siege right now."
The focus in Nevada is on the Fremont Cannon, given to the winner of the UNLV-UNR game.
Now that UNR is in the conference, things are amped up even more.
"It's appropriate that we're in the same league," said UNLV head coach Bobby Hauck. "I think it will add to it, and my hope is we'll play that game on rivalry weekend sometime down the road."
"It just got bigger," added UNR head coach Chris Ault. "That Fremont Cannon is a treasured prize, there's no question about it. We've been fortunate, we've had some good games. Now, in the conference, the game becomes that much more meaningful."
As for UNLV, they were picked to finish ninth of 10 teams in the conference.
The Rebels open up fall practice on August 7.
The first game is at Sam Boyd Stadium against Minnesota on August 30.
The battle for the Fremont Cannon will be played in Las Vegas this year.
The game is set for noon on Saturday, October 13, at Sam Boyd Stadium.
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The Mountain West football title was on hand at media day, just a reminder of what the teams are playing for this season. (Robbie Hunt/FOX5)
