National Football Foundation

Craig Thompson is the only Commissioner in the history of the Mountain West Conference, which officially began operations in January 1999 and was uniquely the second NCAA Division I conference Thompson launched. Under his leadership, the Mountain West negotiated nearly $600 million in television revenue to support its member schools while conference teams have participated in five Bowl Championship Series (BCS)/College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games. He announced that he will be stepping down as commissioner of the Mountain West on Dec. 31.
 
Thompson also led successful member expansion efforts over the years to strengthen the conference adding Fresno State and Nevada in 2012; San José State and Utah State in 2013; and Hawai'i as a football-only member in 2012. Under the BCS format in 2006, he spearheaded an effort that resulted in better access for the MW and more than doubled the annual BCS revenue on an annual basis for non-automatic-qualifying conferences. Thompson also made it a priority to push for the expanded 12-team CFP format that will launch in the coming years.
 
A 43-year veteran of athletic administration, Thompson has spent all but eight of those years sitting in a commissioner's chair. Prior to his current role, Thompson served as the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference for nearly eight years and as the only commissioner of the American South Conference prior to the merger of those two leagues in 1991.
 
Preceding his move to commissioner, Thompson served four years as the director of communications for the Metro Conference in Atlanta. Thompson graduated from the University of Minnesota with an undergraduate degree in journalism. Following graduation, he spent two years as assistant sports information director at Kansas State University and three years as director of public relations and promotions for the NBA's Kansas City Kings.
 
"The Mountain West Conference and college athletics owe so much to the successful leadership of Craig Thompson," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "He has been a strong advocate for the game of football and the NFF during his tenure, and he has been a force for expanding opportunities for all FBS conferences. He has been a wonderful friend, and we salute him for his upcoming retirement."