Boise State rated among best men’s basketball jobs in Mountain West Conference

Boise State is best known as a football school, but the Broncos’ men’s basketball program is also viewed as a successful organization.

Mountain West men’s basketball coaches rated Boise State as the fifth-best job in the MWC, according to a recent survey of the conference’s coaches by The Field of 68.

🔥 MOUNTAIN WEST JOB RANKINGS 🔥

We anonymously polled coaches and asked them to rank every job in the league! 👀 pic.twitter.com/3PiF7GUEda
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 12, 2026

San Diego State received all 12 first-place votes in the poll. The Aztecs reached the national championship game in 2023 and haven’t missed an NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season.

New Mexico ranked second in the poll with 122 votes, followed by MWC newcomer Grand Canyon (120), Utah State (112) and Boise State (96).

Broncos head coach Leon Rice is the longest-tenured coach in the MWC. Rice holds a 331-186 overall record (64 percent) with a 175-104 mark in MWC play (63 percent) during his 16 seasons at Boise State.

Rice has led the Broncos to five NCAA Tournament appearances: 2013, 2015 and 2022-24. Boise State is 0-5 in the NCAA Tournament under Rice and 0-10 in program history.

New Mexico has reached back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, including a round-of-32 appearance last season. The Lobos project to be the top program in the MWC next year as Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State will all join the Pac-12 this summer.

Grand Canyon has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five seasons. The Lopes joined the MWC last summer after a successful 12-year run in the Western Athletic Conference.

Utah State has also been an NCAA Tournament staple with five NCAA Tournament appearances since 2019 under four different head coaches: Craig Smith, Ryan Odom, Danny Sprinkle and current head coach Jerrod Calhoun.

Colorado State, last year’s MWC tournament champion, checked in at No. 6 in the poll with 82 votes. The Rams are 14-10 overall (5-8 MWC) this season under first-year head coach Ali Farokhmanesh.

UNLV, the 1990 national champion, ranked just behind Colorado State with 76 votes. The Rebels haven’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since the 2012-13 season.

Here are the full results of The Field of 68’s MWC men’s basketball job rankings.

1. San Diego State 144 (12 first-place votes)

2. New Mexico 122

3. Grand Canyon 120

4. Utah State 112

5. Boise State 96

6. Colorado State 82

7. UNLV 76

8. Nevada 72

9. Wyoming 42

10. Fresno State 40

11. San Jose State 26

12. Air Force 12