Everything to know from Fresno State's final Mountain West Media Days
LAS VEGAS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Mountain West players are gathering in Las Vegas as we inch closer to a new season of college football.
It is the final Mountain West Media Days for Fresno State Football before the Bulldogs join their new conference, the Pac-12, next season.
Day one is all about the players and their hype to get the season rolling. Day two will focus on the coaches.
Action News sports director Stephen Hicks is in Las Vegas, breaking down everything you need to know about MW Media Days:
Other Mountain West head coaches show respect to Bulldogs' Matt Entz
When looking at years of experience across the Mountain West, there are Bronco Mendenhall and Troy Calhoun with 18 years, Ken Niumatalolo with 17 and Dan Mullen with 13.
But there's Matt Entz, who is entering his first year of coaching at the Division I level. Yet, his colleagues can't help but be impressed by his history of winning two FCS national championships during his time at North Dakota State.
"I got to see it up close, and it wasn't fun," Nevada Wolf Pack head coach Jeff Choate says. "Matt's teams were physical and fast and athletic and had great QB play. They were formidable."
"His reputation precedes itself. Everyone knows what kind of coach he is," San Jose Spartans head coach Ken Niumatalolo says.
"Certainly seen from afar. Stability and success have been noted, so I think it's a really good hire," Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall says. "I think the mindset and his skillset, as well as his demeanor, fit Fresno."
"We want to lead the country in physicality, and to do that, you need to practice that way," coach Entz says.
The ever-changing landscape of college athletics
Players earning income through name, image and likeness is nothing new for Mountain West coaches, but now there's an additional way student-athletes can earn income.
Last month, the NCAA reached a multibillion-dollar settlement in three separate federal lawsuits to allow schools to begin paying their athletes directly. Schools were allowed to cut checks on July 1.
While college sports leaders have been making tentative plans for a major shift in how they do business, the tight turnaround time means schools and conferences will have to hustle to establish the infrastructure needed to enforce their new rules.
"I know right now there are a lot of numbers being thrown out there in college football, but one of the things we talk about is where are you going to be developed. Who's going to help you get that next contract?" coach Entz says.
"The NFL has a great idea and we're somewhere in the middle, mostly because we're having a hard time defining whether we're professional or amateur," coach Mendenhall says.
The NCAA will pay nearly $2.8 billion in back damages over the next 10 years to athletes who competed in college at any time from 2016 through present day.
Moving forward, each school can pay its athletes up to a certain limit. The annual cap is expected to start at roughly $20.5 million per school in 2025-26 and increase every year during the decade-long deal.
These new payments are in addition to scholarships and other benefits the athletes already receive.
Mountain West Media Days - Day one coverage:
Boise State projected to finish 1st, Bulldogs to finish 5th
Defending Mountain West Champions Boise State has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference.
The Broncos earned 35 of 39 first-place media votes and 464 total points to lead the preseason poll for the 15th straight season.
Boise State finished last season ranked inside the top 10 in the College Football Playoff and earned a bye into the CFP quarterfinals, where they fell to Penn State in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
Matt Entz's first season at the helm of the Fresno State Football program is projected to end in a fifth-place finish.
2025 Mountain West Predicted Order of Finish
1. Boise State (35)
2. UNLV (4)
3. San José State
4. Colorado State
5. Fresno State
6. Air Force
7. Hawai'i
8. San Diego State
9. Utah State
10. Wyoming
11. New Mexico
12. Nevada
The final season in the Mountain West Conference
Five teams are leaving the Mountain West Conference for the Pac-12 after this season.
"We really want to stay in the moment and thank those student athletes for the legacy that is the Mountain West," Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said.
Fresno State, Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah State will join Oregon State, Washington State and the newly added Texas State Bobcats to reform the Pac-12 conference next football season.
The Mountain West and Pac-12 are currently in a legal dispute about poaching fees.
"We're committed to doing what we do well, business as usual and we're looking forward to this season," Nevarez said.
Al'zillion Hamilton lone Bulldog to be named preseason All-MW
Fresno State senior cornerback Al'zillion Hamilton earned his first career preseason All-Mountain West recognition on Wednesday.
"It's only preseason. I want my name on the outcome at the end of the year, I want my name on that," Hamilton said.
Hamilton had his name in the transfer portal this offseason but returned to Fresno State after a conversation his dad had with head coach Matt Entz.
"After I talked with Entz, I said, 'This is the guy here," Alfonso Hamilton said. "I said, 'I don't know what you gotta do but you gotta get back to Fresno.'"
"He wants us to be the most physical team on the field. It's a lot of lifting and a lot of mentality that's what it is," Al'zillion said.
The senior Bulldog has the most games played in a Bulldog uniform with 42 entering this year. In 2024, he was one of the nation's top corners, ranking 10th in the FBS in passes defended with an average of 1.2 per game.
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