Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference is a public charity based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It provides administrative support to member institutions to strengthen and expand their intercollegiate athletic and academic programs.
Mountain West Conference at a glance
In short: Mountain West Conference gave $103.4M across 12 grants in 2025 (avg $8.6M), top state California. 0% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $103,380,648
- +24.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 12
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $8,615,054
- +24.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $8,427,394
- Total assets
- $50,612,590
- +449.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 0% first-time grantees (0 of 12, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- California (25% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Mountain West Conference
- Contact
Mailing address: 10807 New Allegiance Dr 250, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
Phone: (719) 488-4058
Website: https://themw.com
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Mountain West Conference funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Boise State University ($16.1M). Together the top 10 received $92.9M.
Grant Size Distribution
58 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was $5M or more: 32 grants of 58 (55%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 filing allocates grant dollars among recipient states as follows: California, 25%; Nevada, 16%; Idaho, 16%; Colorado, 16%; and New Mexico, 8%. These figures describe the reported grants, rather than a stated geographic eligibility policy.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Mountain West Conference open to new grantees?
0%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 0 of 12 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. How we count
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $4.6M (2020) to $103.4M (2025). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $103.4M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Boise State University Boise, ID | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $16,124,802 |
| California State University Fresno Fresno, CA | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $9,062,902 |
| Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $8,944,551 |
| University of Nevada Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $8,842,026 |
| San Diego State University San Diego, CA | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $8,532,786 |
| San Jose State University San Jose, CA | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $8,462,470 |
| University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $8,392,318 |
| Utah State University Logan, UT | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $8,247,581 |
| University of Wyoming Laramie, WY | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $8,210,984 |
| University of Nevada Reno, NV | Support the Missions of Member Institutions | $8,116,659 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $50,612,590 | $165,579,583 | $124,196,787 | $103,380,648 | 12 | $927,376 |
| 2024 | $9,217,703 | $92,842,701 | $96,194,245 | $83,064,541 | 12 | $1,166,922 |
| 2023 | $12,570,259 | $78,195,311 | $70,903,843 | $59,270,849 | 12 | $1,155,745 |
| 2022 | $5,314,529 | $79,369,354 | $82,478,333 | $4,959,980 | 11 | $33,596 |
| 2021 | $8,458,444 | $60,414,909 | $64,751,580 | $5,019,699 | 11 | $7,959 |
| 2020 | $13,086,448 | $59,467,622 | $54,810,847 | $4,574,771 | 10 | $200,491 |
| 2019 | $8,207,119 | $57,058,330 | $56,591,892 | $5,061,596 | 10 | $377,887 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization states its mission as providing administrative support for its thirteen member institutions to strengthen and expand intercollegiate athletic and academic programs on each campus. Its 2024 filing says it provides a first-class athletic and academic experience for more than 5,100 student-athletes each year.
The 2025 grants listed in the filing were for “support the missions of member institutions.” Among the recipients, California State University Fresno’s stated mission is to administer property and make expenditures for the benefit of the university. Colorado State University’s grantee description says CSU STRATA aids universities in the Colorado State University System in research and educational efforts. San José State University’s grantee description says its Research Foundation supports sponsored research, public service, community projects, consulting, and other specialized educational activities.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the Conference reported 12 grants totaling $103,380,648. Grant amounts ranged from $3,320,747 to $16,124,802, with a median of $8,427,394.
The largest reported grants were $16,124,802 to Boise State University; $9,062,902 to California State University Fresno; $8,944,551 to Colorado State University; $8,842,026 to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and $8,532,786 to an individual recipient State University. Each was listed for “support the missions of member institutions.”
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists the following directors: Dr. Garnett Stokes, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfiend, Dr. Saul Jimenez-Sandoval, and Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson. It also lists Dr. Amy Parsons, Dr. Adela de la Torre, Dr. Brian Sandoval, Dr. Elizabeth Cantwell, Dr. David Lassner, and Dr. Marlene Tromp as directors whose listed terms ended during 2024 or 2025.
The Conference website identifies Gloria Nevarez as commissioner and says she began her tenure on January 1, 2023.
Mountain West Conference's 2025 filing lists 28 officers; 12 of 28 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Adela De La Torre
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Lassner
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Garnett Stokes
Director
Director to → Director, 2020
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Marlene Tromp
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brian Sandoval
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Edward Seidel
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Keith Whitfield
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Saul Jimenez-Sandoval
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Amy Parsons
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Cynthia Teniente-Matson
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Elizabeth Cantwell
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Alan L. Smith
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christopher Heavey
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jeremiah Shinn
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lt Gen Tony Bauernfiend
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Wendy Hensel
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bret Gilliland
Deputy Commissioner
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$243K (2019) → $339K (2025)
Brian Tripp
Associate Commissioner
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$105K (2019) → $126K (2025)
Carolayne Henry
Former Senior Associate Com
Senior Associate Commissioner → Former Senior Associate Com, 2025
On filings since 2019
$136K (2019) → $191K (2025)
Craig Thompson
Former Commissioner
Commissioner → Former Commissioner, 2023
On filings since 2019
$699K (2019) → $949K (2025)
Gary Walenga
Chief Financial Officer
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$78K (2019) → $168K (2025)
Javan Hedlund
Senior Associate Commissioner
Associate Commissioner → Senior Associate Commissioner, 2024
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$136K (2021) → $174K (2025)
Gloria Nevarez
Commissioner
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$1M (2024) → $1.2M (2025)
John Sullivan
Associate Commissioner
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$63K (2023) → $171K (2025)
Jesse Kurtz
Executive Producer
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$102K (2024) → $111K (2025)
Julie Owen
Senior Associate Commissioner
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$78K (2025)
Nicholas Roberts
Associate Commissioner
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$113K (2025)
Sean Harris
Associate Commissioner
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$142K (2025)
Former officers (18)
- Former: Noelle Cockett (2019–2024) — Director
- Former: Lt Gen Rich Clark (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Jaime Hixson (2019–2023) — Associate Commissioner
- Former: Joyce McConnell (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Steve Perez (2022–2023) — Director
- Former: Mary Papazian (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Joseph I. Castro (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Dan Butterly (2019–2020) — Senior Associate Commissioner
- Former: Jay Silveria (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Marc Johnson (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Marta Meana (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Neil Theobold (2020) — Director
- Former: Anthony Frank (2019) — Director
- Former: Chaouki Abdallah (2019) — Director
- Former: Darryl Siebel (2019) — Brand & Communications Officer
- Former: Laurie Nichols (2019) — Director
- Former: Martin Schimpf (2019) — Director
- Former: Robert Kustra (2019) — Director to
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $1.2M, to Gloria Nevarez (Commissioner). 12 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Mountain West Conference
How much does Mountain West Conference give each year?
Mountain West Conference gave $103.4M across 12 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $83.1M across 12 grants.
What is Mountain West Conference's typical grant size?
Mountain West Conference's median grant in 2025 was $8,427,394, and its average grant was $8,615,054, across 12 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Mountain West Conference give grants?
Mountain West Conference's top state is California, with 25% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were Nevada (16%) and Idaho (16%).
Does Mountain West Conference give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 12 grants with a stated purpose on Mountain West Conference's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Support the Missions of Member Institutions" (12 grants).
Who are Mountain West Conference's largest grantees?
Mountain West Conference's largest 2025 grantees include Boise State University ($16,124,802), California State University Fresno ($9,062,902) and Colorado State University ($8,944,551), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 33% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Mountain West Conference?
Mountain West Conference reported $50.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $165.6M.
What does Mountain West Conference fund?
The organization states its mission as providing administrative support for its thirteen member institutions to strengthen and expand intercollegiate athletic and academic programs on each campus. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Mountain West Conference?
Mountain West Conference has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check themw.com for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Mountain West Conference's EIN?
Mountain West Conference's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-1472434. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 14, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 9, 2023)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 13, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 15, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 15, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 15, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Mountain West Conference funds
Recreation & Sports Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Mountain West Conference's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Mountain West Conference funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/mountain-west-conference-morg_7615bde0e75747ef93ce4ed86f1409c2
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_841472434_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Mountain West Conference funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/mountain-west-conference-morg_7615bde0e75747ef93ce4ed86f1409c2},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Mountain West Conference's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
Mountain West Conference down — hundreds of funders to go?