July 22, 2004

LAS VEGAS - UNLV was voted to come in fifth place in the Mountain West Conference this season along with BYU after voting by select media at the league's annual meetings Thursday.

Liberty Bowl champion Utah received 15 of 16 first-place votes en route to being selected to repeat as MWC champions. The only other team to get a first-place vote was 2003 San Francisco Bowl participant Colorado State. However, this marked the first time in four years the Rams have not been selected to win the conference title.

San Diego State edged New Mexico by one point to claim third place in the poll. The Aztecs collected 87 points to the Lobos' 86, marking their highest ranking in the MWC preseason poll.

BYU and UNLV tied for fifth with 54 points apiece, followed by Air Force with 42 and Wyoming 23.

Last year, UNLV was picked to finish sixth.

2004 Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll
Rk. Team (first place votes) Points1. Utah (15) 1272. Colorado State (1) 983. San Diego State 874. New Mexico 865. UNLV 54   BYU 547. Air Force 428. Wyoming 23