Hawai'i, Fresno State and Nevada officially become the newest members of the Mountain West on Sunday, but introductions are largely inessential. The Warriors (football only), Bulldogs and Wolf Pack are not only familiar with the MW landscape, they are, in many instances, tethered by well-rooted rivalries and long-standing coaching connections.

To wit:

First-year Fresno State football coach Tim DeRuyter, an Air Force graduate, not only played for the Falcons but spent a total of seven years at the Academy during two separate stints as a position coach and defensive coordinator.

New Hawai'i football coach Norm Chow spent 27 seasons as an assistant at BYU before the former MW member opted to join the independent ranks last season.

Nevada's Chris Ault, the only active FBS coach in the College Football Hall of Fame, has faced every team represented in the 2011-12 configuration of the MW at least three times since joining the Wolf Pack staff in 1976.

"Today we officially welcome Fresno State, Hawai'i and Nevada as members, ushering in a new era for the Mountain West," said Commissioner Craig Thompson. "The addition of these fine institutions helps position the Conference for a bright future, and we look forward to the contributions that Bulldog, Warrior and Wolf Pack student-athletes, coaches, fans and administrators will make to the success of the Mountain West."

Here's a look at each of the three institutions and a sampling of their athletic successes:

Fresno State

Football: The Bulldogs have failed to garner a bowl bid only twice since 2000. Fresno State went to four straight bowl games from 2007-10, with two of the contests coming against MW members Colorado State and Wyoming. Prior to DeRuyter's hire, the Bulldogs' two previous coaches --- Jim Sweeney and Pat Hill --- posted a combined winning percentage of .607 and won three conference titles.

"We're really excited about our first year in the Mountain West," said DeRuyter, a linebacker at Air Force from 1982-84. "Having some personal history in this conference, I know about the excellent programs and the excellent coaches in this league. We know this is going to be a tremendous challenge, but we're excited about it and we're looking forward to it."

Men's Basketball: The Bulldogs have won two conference titles, participated in one NCAA Tournament and two National Invitational Tournaments since 2000. Many believe second-year coach Rodney Terry has put together one of the program's top recruiting classes in years, a group led by 7-foot, 265-pound incoming freshman center Robert Upshaw, ranked No. 55 nationally in the 2012 ESPNU Top 100.

Women's Basketball: Fresno State is coming off a 2011-12 season in which it won a conference title, earned its fifth straight NCAA Tournament bid and won 28 games for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs started four underclassmen last season, including guard Ki-Ki Moore, the WAC Player of the Year.

Baseball: Fresno State, the 2008 national champion, won its seventh straight WAC title this past year while qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.

Softball: The Bulldogs have participated in 30 of the last 31 NCAA Tournaments and won the 1998 national title. The Bulldogs have played in more NCAA Championships than any other Division I program and rank third all-time in tournament victories with 89.

Men's Tennis: The Bulldogs enter the Mountain West having won two consecutive league titles while earning three straight NCAA Tournament bids.

Hawai'i

Football: Hawai'i became just the third non-automatic-qualifying conference team to play in a BCS bowl in 2008 when it faced Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Warriors were the only FBS team in the nation that year to finish the regular season undefeated. Hawai'i has appeared in a bowl game seven times since 2002, posting six winning seasons and four campaigns with double-digit victories.

"I think (the transition to the MW) is going to be extremely tough and that is what I am trying to impress upon our players, that this is a step up," Chow told the Maui News. "The schedule is extremely challenging, the non-conference games are as tough as the conference games, but if you are in this profession, you get in this profession, you enjoy challenges, and you enjoy the week-by-week work that goes with those challenges, so we are all very excited about it."

Nevada

Football: The Wolf Pack, who finished the 2010 season ranked No. 11 in the nation, have appeared in seven consecutive bowl games. The program's history includes 14 conference titles and since 2005, Nevada has had one losing season and six campaigns of seven or more wins.

"We're excited to be jumping into the Mountain West and to be part of such an elite group," said football head coach Chris Ault. Ault enters his 28th season with a win percentage of 68.5 percent (226-103-1).

Men's Basketball: The Wolf Pack won the WAC regular-season championship with a mark of 13-1 last season en route to making their fifth appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. Nevada has posted eight 20-win seasons since 2003-04, while earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament four times.

Women's Basketball: Nevada has won at least 17 games five of the last seven seasons, twice advancing to the National Invitation Tournament.

Baseball: The Wolf Pack, who won a share of the regular-season conference title in 2012, have won 30 or more games six times since 2000, while winning two league titles and making two NCAA postseason appearances.

The Mountain West champion Broncos, seemingly in command after jumping out to a 3-0 lead, were unable to hold on against No. 33 Florida State on Saturday, dropping a 4-3 decision in the opening round of the NCAA Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

Boise State, which had won 22 matches this season when winning the doubles point, was unable to parlay that advantage into victory on Saturday, as the Seminoles rallied back in the final four singles matches.

The Broncos led 3-0 following singles wins by Andy Bettles (No. 3 singles) and Damian Hume (No. 2 singles), but the Seminoles won consecutive matches at the No. 6, 5 and 1 positions to tie the match, 3-3. In the deciding match, Florida State's Benjamin Lock was able to break Nathan Sereke's final serve in the third set at No. 4 singles to secure a 7-6(5), 6-7(7), 7-5 win.

The No. 69-ranked Hume, who had little trouble dispatching Florida State's Blake Davis 6-1, 6-4 to give Boise State a 2-0 lead, will return to Athens, Ga., May 23-28 to compete as one of 64 singles players in the NCAA Men's Individual Championship.

The No. 3 seed Horned Frogs, who entered play with a ranking of No. 32 nationally, picked up their lone point of the match at No. 4 singles, where sophomore Millie Nichols defeated Dominika Kanakova 6-2, 6-2.

TCU, which was making its 14th appearance in the NCAA Championships and eighth in the last nine years, finished the season 18-6.

Nichols and teammate Olivia Smith will compete in the NCAA Doubles Championship on May 23 at the University of Georgia.

 Memory of the 8 Memorial Run/Walk to be held on Sept. 16

Volleyball

 Six freshmen give New Mexico depth in 2011

 Words of Westman: UNLV sophomore to blog during the 2011 season

 Colorado State's Tom Hilbert still tweaking lineup

 Colorado State settling several issues during preseason camp

Women's Soccer

 Wyoming coach Danny Sanchez is confident the Cowgirls are hitting their stride

 Wyoming Cowgirls add an international flavor to the roster

 Boise State uses exhibition match to assist former Bronco

 Lobos dedicate season to George Montoya

 New Mexico Soccer watching its steps

Summer Baseball

 New Mexico's Trey Porras continues hitting ways as TCL's batting champ

Summer University Games

• New Mexico's Phil Anderson and fellow Canadian Lee Daigle upset No. 2 tennis seed in China

• Wyoming's Francisco Cruz is playing well for Mexico in World University Games

• Former CSU All-American to compete at World Championships

Miscellaneous

• Gentler approach working for Air Force coaches Matt McShane, Andrea Williams and Mike Kazlausky

• Former Wyoming sprinter Afiya Walker wins national title in home country

• UNLV's Sandrine Nzeukou provides updates from her workouts with the Cameroon women's basketball national team

• TCU women's basketball player Starr Crawford shares her thoughts about the upcoming season

• SDSU's assistant softball coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz helps USA Softball claim World Cup

UNLV, making its fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships, dropped a 4-2 decision to San Diego in the first round on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

The Lady Rebels' No. 1 doubles team of Aleksandra Josifoska and Nives Pavlovic pulled within 7-6 against USD's Stephanie Hoffpauir and Juliette Coupez, but a strong forehand down the line by Hoffpauir enabled the 29th-ranked Toreros to hold on for an 8-6 win and the doubles point.

UNLV, which entered the match ranked No. 39, got its lone doubles win at the second spot where Lucia Batta and Anna Maskaljun closed the season on a school-record 19-match winning streak. Maskaljun ended her career in second place on the school's all-time list with 90 wins. Maskaljun's singles sweep (7-5, 6-0) of Maja Sujica marked her 21st win in her final 22 collegiate matches.

Undefeated this season in Mountain West action, the Lady Rebels closed out the season with an overall mark of 20-6.

Meanwhile, Utah, making back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Championships for the first time since qualifying three consecutive times from 1996-98, was ousted by Alabama, 4-0, in Athens, Ga.

The 49th-ranked Utes were bidding to advance to the tournament's second round for the first time in school history while avenging a 4-2 loss to the No. 26-ranked Crimson Tide in February. Utah, which won the MW Championships, finished the season 16-10 overall after going 7-1 in MW play.

Junior Anastasia Putilina, the MW Women's Player of the Year, held a 3-0 advantage in her third set against Mary Anne McFarlane when play was halted after Alabama clinched the team match.

Postseason Play Continues at Stanford

The men's and women's Mountain West Tennis Players of the Year --- UNLV's Mehdi Bouras and Utah's Anastasia Putilina --- will compete in the NCAA Individual Tennis Championships May 25-30 at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif., following the conclusion of the team championships on May 24.

Bouras (22-11), the MW's highest-ranked singles player at No. 72 in the nation, is the first Rebel men's player to earn a spot in the NCAA singles field since Elliot Wronski in 2007. He will also pair with teammate Bernard Schoeman in the doubles competition. Bouras and Schoeman are 13-8 overall as a tandem and boast three wins over top-20 opponents this spring. They are also the first UNLV doubles team to reach the national tournament since Nenad Zivkovic and Gregor Skorin in 1999.

Putilina, ranked No. 92 in the latest ITA rankings, earned the MW's automatic bid to the NCAA's women's singles field.

Individual and doubles draws will be released just prior to the tournament.

For more information on Mountain West Tennis, follow the MW on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TheMWC and www.Twitter.com/TheMWCOlySports. For the latest news from around the league, become a Facebook fan at www.Facebook.com/MountainWestConference, check out its official YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/MountainWestConf, and read the league's official blog at www.TheMWC.com/blog.

The No. 35-ranked Cougars, who entered the NCAA Tournament having won their second MW Tournament, finished the season 21-6 overall. It was the team's second NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Brad Pearce, the MW Coach of the Year.

Patrick Kawka, the MW Freshman of the Year who also earned the ITA's Mountain Region Rookie of the Year award, dropped his first set 7-6 before quickly turning the tables in a 6-1 win against Clarke Spinosa in the second set. Kawka trailed 3-0 in the deciding set when play on all courts was halted after San Diego notched four team points.

On the women's side, the Mountain West's two NCAA qualifiers begin action on Saturday.

No. 39 UNLV will battle No. 29 San Diego at 9 a.m. PT, followed by Quinnipiac squaring off against host and sixth-ranked UCLA at Noon PT at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

In Athens, Ga., No. 49 Utah will take on No. 26 Alabama at 9 a.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The other match-up will feature Marist squaring off against host and eighth-ranked Georgia at Noon ET.

For more information on Mountain West Tennis, follow the MW on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TheMWC and www.Twitter.com/TheMWCOlySports. For the latest news from around the league, become a Facebook fan at www.Facebook.com/MountainWestConference, check out its official YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/MountainWestConf, and read the league's official blog at www.TheMWC.com/blog.

Three Mountain West student-athletes, including the MW Men's and Women's Player of the Year award recipients, will compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Tennis Championships May 25-30 at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif., following the conclusion of the team championships on May 24.

UNLV men's player Mehdi Bouras (22-11), the MW's highest-ranked singles player at No. 72 in nation, is the first Rebel men's player to earn a spot in the NCAA singles field since Elliot Wronski in 2007. He will also pair with teammate Bernard Schoeman in the doubles competition. Bouras and Schoeman are 13-8 overall in doubles, boast three wins over top-20 opponents this spring and are the first UNLV doubles team to reach the national tournament since Nenad Zivkovic and Gregor Skorin in 1999.

On the women's side, the MW's automatic qualifying slot was filled by Utah junior Anastasia Putilina, who went 2-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles last week in helping lead the Utes to their first Mountain West title. Putilina (25-13), a native of Belgorod, Russia, is currently ranked 49th in the nation.

Singles and doubles matchups will be released just prior to the tournament.

NCAA Women's Golf Regional Action Starts Today

Five teams and one individual from the Mountain West are set to begin their postseason bids in the 2011 NCAA Women's Golf Regionals, which start today. The MW is represented in the West Regional in Auburn, Wash., by BYU, New Mexico and San Diego State, as well as Colorado State's Brianna Espinoza. UNLV is competing in the Central Regional in Notre Dame, Ind., while conference champion TCU will tee off in the East Regional in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Live scoring from each of the three 54-hole tournament is available online at GolfStat.com. Regional action concludes Saturday, when eight teams and two individuals from each site will advance to the national championships, scheduled for May 18-21 in in Bryan, Texas.

For the first time in league history, a record six MWC women's tennis programs finished among the nation's top 75 teams. UNLV (22-5), which set a program record for highest winning percentage during the regular season (.869), finished 30th overall, followed by Conference regular-season champion Utah (17-8) at No. 40. MWC tournament champion TCU (10-17) finished at No. 50, while tournament runner-up San Diego State (15-11) was close behind at No. 57. No. 70 BYU (9-13) and 73rd-ranked Wyoming (14-8) rounded out the women's rankings for the MWC.

On the men's side, four Conference teams concluded the 2010 campaign within the rankings. MWC regular-season champion BYU (21-7) finished the season ranked 36th in the nation, while the Aztecs (13-13) closed the year at No. 50. The league tournament champion Horned Frogs (12-13) and Rebels (13-12) finished 52nd and 64th, respectively.

Noteworthy:

• Five teams represented the MWC in the 2010 NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships. The men's teams from BYU and TCU and the women's teams from TCU, UNLV and Utah all earned tournament bids.

• This marks the ninth straight year, and 10th overall, the Conference has sent multiple women's teams to the NCAA tournament.

• It is the second time in the 11-year history of the league that multiple men's team has advanced to the postseason (2009 and 2010, respectively).

• The UNLV women's tennis team recorded its first NCAA tournament victory since 1998, defeating Virginia Commonwealth, 4-3.

• Three MWC individuals and two MWC doubles teams participated in the 2010 NCAA Singles and Doubles Tennis Championships.

• After finishing with a 20-10 overall record, TCU's doubles team of Kayla Duncan and Katariina Tuohimaa concluded the season as the 27th-ranked doubles tandem in the country. Duncan and Tuohimaa, who reached the Round of 16 at the NCAA Doubles Championships, gave TCU at least one doubles team to be included among the ITA's final top-31 squads for the seventh straight season.