Aug. 7, 2001

LAS VEGAS - In a vote of the league's eight head coaches, BYU is the favorite to win the 2001 Mountain West Conference title after earning five first-place votes and 46 points. UNLV is picked to finish fifth with 24 points. Colorado State, which finished with three first-place votes and 45 points in the poll, is second, followed by Utah (3rd), San Diego State (4th),New Mexico (6th), Wyoming (7th) and Air Force (8th).

The 2001 season opens Aug. 31 with all eight teams participating in tournament play. Highlighting the MWC non-conference slate are 19 matches vs. teams ranked in the final 2000 USAToday/AVCA Top 25 poll, and another 33 matches vs. 2000 NCAA Tournament teams. The conference season gets underway Sept. 19 when Colorado State travels to Wyoming. The remaining MWC teams begin conference action Sept. 20 with Air Force hosting San Diego State, New Mexico hosting UNLV and BYU traveling to Utah. The Mountain West Conference Championship will be held in Provo, Utah, Nov. 15-17 and all matches will be televised by SportsWest for the second straight year.

RK. Team              Points  2000 Season Notes1.  BYU (5)           46      NCAA Regional Semifinals2.  Colorado (3)      45      NCAA Regional Semifinals3.  Utah              37      NCAA 2nd Round4.  San Diego State   32      4th in the MWC5.  UNLV              24      Tied for 5th in the MWC6.  New Mexico        20      Tied for 5th in the MWC7.  Wyoming           12      7th in the MWC8.  Air Force          9      8th in the MWC